Remember your classroom manners

By Adam Nolasco
Pulse Staff Reporter  

Classroom etiquette is hardly practiced today. Many students disrupt class without giving it a second thought and the trend seems to be growing.

Tardiness is a classroom no-no. The person who comes in late, starts to move chairs, unzips bags and loudly takes out books so that the other students have no idea what the instructor just said, is becoming a major occurrence. This breaks the professor's flow and the other students' attention.

“If students are tardy to class, they are only cheating themselves,” said Anthony Pierulla, Assistant Professor of Counseling. “They are not receiving the full value of their education.”

Cell phone clipart Today's technology is another disruption. Class starts and then a couple of minutes later a cell phone or a beeper can be heard, capturing the entire class' attention. The student lets it ring three or four times before the phone call gets answered outside of the class.

"People just call to say 'Hi' or 'What are you doing?" said Chris Gatton, a freshman Art major.

Other times, the ringing is heard in the library, where a student is talking about what happened during the day and what their future plans may be.

"What gives? I thought the library was a quiet place where you come to study, not to hear someone's conversation," said Pete Aguilar, a sophomore Physical Education major.

Pierulla said that in today's world, cell phone disruptions should be expected.

“If the instructor sets guidelines at the beginning, then students will be aware and follow them,” said Pierulla. “If students don't follow them, then it is like students have a $100 coupon for HEB and are only using $75 of it.”

Then comes the time when it's a couple minutes before the class is about to conclude, and one person starts putting up their belongings. That triggers the rest of the students to follow their lead while the instructor is still giving his or her lecture.

"I think it is so rude when people start putting up their belongings ten minutes before the class is over and the teacher is still talking," said Danyal Sharpe, a freshman English major. "What is their hurry? They should just control themselves."

Students need to show consideration toward their fellow classmates and their professors and think about the distractions they cause when they do not observe the rules of classroom etiquette. So...arrive on time, turn off your cell phone, and stay put until class is over!

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