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Classroom Etiquette 101

 

Getting back into school

Some tips for the start of a new semester

By: James Learie — The Muse

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. (CUP) —It’s the
last five minutes of class, possibly
the most important part, and the
professor is just beginning to make
an important announcement about
an upcoming exam. Suddenly

their voice is overshadowed by a
cacophony of zippers and the flutter
of rustling papers.

The early exit and similar
discourtesies happen daily and they
are the best examples of the terrible
classroom etiquette displayed by a
certain contingent of students in each
class.

To those who insist on being
so disruptive: Everyone else in the
classroom has somewhere to be too,
but you don’t see us jumping up
five minutes before class concludes
and kicking up a huge ruckus. This
commotion makes it hard enough for
the rest of us to hear what’s being
said, let alone the poor professor who
has to stand at the front of the room
and attempt to speak over the white
noise.

This issue is just one of many
which are viewed as rude and
ignorant by a majority of the student
population. I’ve been in classrooms
where students are actually rude
enough to whip out their cell phones
and start snapping away, taking
pictures of the notes being displayed
at the front of the room.

The time I witnessed this —
twice in one class, no less — the
professor was very quick to put a stop
to it. The thing is though, it happened
twice in one class. What a complete
lack of respect for the professor and

other students, who have their classes
interrupted while the offending pupil
gets a lesson in manners.

Along with the “I have more
important things to do than sit here”
cretins, there are those who ask
far too many questions. Actually,
they ask one question, over and
over again. This one question is
sneakily rephrased several times, and
answered the same way each time it
is asked.

It’s more than a little annoying
listening to someone make attempt
after attempt to wheedle the answer

they want to hear out of the professor.

I’m not saying that you shouldn’t ask
questions, but think about how long
the class is.

It’s not just the students who
can be completely out of touch
with respect and courtesy either.
Professors can be just as bad
sometimes. I’ve had classes where
the professor encouraged the students
to voice their opinions, but the
second someone ventured to do this
they were shot down instantaneously.

The way I see it, we all pay for
the classes we attend. Why can’t we
actually come to class willing to be
respectful of everyone else who has
put their hard-earned dollars toward
the 50 minutes a day in which we
take instruction from someone who
presumably knows what they’re
doing?

Let’s face it — we’re all adults,
most of us preparing for our future
careers. Maybe we should make the
effort to be a bit more considerate of
those around us. How about starting
with waiting until class is over before
getting ready to leave?

 

 

By Trevor Doré, Opinions Editor

© matter what, it can be hard
N=: get back into the school

routine. You might have
taken some vacation time or travelled
over the last couple of months, or
perhaps you worked a full-time job.
Either way, it’s going to be hard to
get back into a regular routine of
homework, studying for tests and
completing assignments. For those
who took a summer semester, things
may be a little bit easier, however
there are some things that we can all
do as students to help us get back into
school.

Establish goals. You should have
already done this but if not, better late
than never. Ask yourself why you’re
here and what you hope to gain
from the experience. Why did you
make the decision to come to post-
secondary school instead of heading
out in search of a full-time job? Is
your goal to transfer to university
or complete a program within the
parameters of the college? Take a
second to figure this one out; it will
be different for everyone. It’s also an
intrinsic aspect of post-secondary life.

Challenge yourself. For many,
four classes is a full-work load.
Others can handle five and some
even more. Perhaps you have to
work a part-time job while going to
school and perhaps you’re involved
in multiple extra-curricular activities.
It is important to challenge yourself.
Often you don’t know what you are
capable of until you push yourself a
little. You’ll be surprised.

Strive for a good work/life
balance. Although it’s important to
push yourself, try no to push to the
point of burning out. Sometimes this
can be a fine line and often times the
only way to find out is through trial
and error. As nice as it would be to
finish school as quickly as possible,
it’s important to have a healthy work/
life balance. After all, balance is the
key to a truly rich experience.

Along with setting goals
that encompass the breadth of
your education, set goals for each
individual class. Ask yourself what
you hope to gain from each class.
Have a look at the course outline and
evaluate where you think that you

   

need to invest the most effort. If you
can, set some rough time restrictions
for assignments and try your best

to stick with them. It’s important
however to remember that ten percent
at the end of the semester can mean
the difference of a letter grade.

Get an early start. Procrastination
will bite you in the ass every time.
It’s priceless to stay on top of
readings and homework assignments
throughout the term. Once you fall
behind, it’s a never-ending game of
catch up. It’s also vital to learn things
the first time. If you don’t understand
something that was taught, make
sure you get help as soon as possible.
Waiting will only compound the
problem. Ensuring that you’re up to
date in every class will not only help
come exam time, it will also help in
future classes.

Have fun and get rest. College
is probably going to be one of the
most exciting, interesting and fun-
filled times of your life. While it is
important to buckle down in order to
achieve academic success, it is also
important to take some time and have
some fun. Get involved with some of
the sports teams or clubs on campus.
And make sure to spend valuable time
with friends and family. Get enough
sleep every night and take breaks
while working.

These are obviously not the
only keys to a successful semester;
however, hopefully they will help on
some level to make it a richer more
balanced experience.

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