Respect: “A feeling or understanding that someone or something is important, serious, etc., and should be treated in an appropriate way.”
That, my friends, is the definition of respect as given by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.
I felt the need to remind you all of what this word means because it seems to have been forgotten over time.
College professors have spent upward of six years (or more if they have a doctorate) in college to attain a level of education to be able to educate us, and it is high time you showed them the respect they deserve.
You know who you are: the talkers, the texters, the people who get up in the middle of class to take an unimportant phone call, and the people who show up to class late every single day.
Over the past three years I have sat in numerous classrooms on the Bakersfield College campus and have encountered the same issue in pretty much every class. There are always two or more people who feel the need to constantly be talking throughout the entire session, that person who never “remembers” to turn the ringer off on their phone, that person furiously typing a status update to Facebook while on a laptop, and that person who casually strolls through the door 15 minutes late every day.
The blatant show of disrespect to professors and peers alike is astounding as well as disgusting.
Clearly your mommy and daddy never taught you the meaning of respect.
It seems that most professors have given up on trying to make these people follow the rules, which in turn has caused students to try and help.
This generally doesn’t end well, I know from experience, as I was involved in an altercation two years ago for this exact problem.
When I do encounter a professor who enforces the rules, it brings me great joy to watch the impolite people of the class get humiliated for being so rude.
Being someone who takes my education seriously, it is extremely frustrating to have to listen to pointless chatter coming from behind, or the clicking sound of your phone’s keyboard while texting, or the sound of your annoying ringtone, while the professor is talking and I’m trying to take detailed notes. On occasion I have found myself writing not what the professor is saying, but what the insolent person behind me is saying.
It’s simple people, have a little respect, not only for the professor, but for your peers as well.
Sorry to burst your bubble, but your life is not that exciting and is of little significance to the other 40 people in the room with you. Your friend may be ecstatic to hear about your vulgar word exchange with someone who used to date your boyfriend, but I am not.
It is apparent to me that respect is being lost more and more as time goes on, and it’s truly pathetic that someone who is in their 20s or 30s even has to be told to be quiet during a lecture.
It is also extremely sad that professors feel as if there is nothing they can do. You can ask someone 1,000 times to be quiet, and it makes no difference.
The entitled attitude of a lot of people these days trumps any wise decision-making process, but let me tell you, no one is entitled to be disrespectful.
I didn’t even act like that in high school, and as a college student I would never dream of making such a mockery out of my education, nor would I ever dream of portraying such surly behavior toward my professor or peers.
In fact, I go out of my way to ensure that I am showing the utmost respect to all my professors, regardless of whether or not I like them or enjoy listening to their lectures.
I become highly annoyed when I see a professor having to stand there quietly for minutes, waiting for certain students to shut it.
Not only are you being discourteous to the professor, but to the rest of the class who are actually there to learn something.
The professor has the floor at all times unless stated otherwise.
Deal with it.
If you have something of importance to say, or an actual contribution to the discussion, then by all means, speak away, otherwise stop being so contemptuous and please, for the love of everything holy, grow up.