Can you imagine trying to talk in front of a class that is packing up and completely ignoring what you are saying? I am sure that is how many professors feel when their students do that. In almost every class I take, the majority of students start to pack up when they hear "that's all" or "next time." Early packing forces the professor to rush what they were trying to say because their students are practically walking out of the door.
This is one of my biggest pet peeves here at Radford. Packing up early is the most disrespectful thing I can think of, and most of students do it. I know that each student thinks that they are packing up as quietly and discretely as possible, but if every student in the room is packing up "quietly," there is definitely going to be noise.
It is extremely disturbing to watch the frustration and humiliation on a professor's face, when the students decide that it's time to leave. All this shows is the lack of control and authority that the professor has over his or her students. Maybe I am old fashioned, but the professor is the one teaching, and he or she is the one who decides if the class will end five minutes early or not.
I can't express my annoyance when people pack up while their professors are still lecturing. Does it really matter if you sit still at the desk for an extra 30 seconds, and then pack up after your professor is finished? Seriously, I can't even comprehend how someone can be so self-centered that they can't even wait 30 seconds before packing up, just to show a professor a little respect. It won't kill you to sit and actually listen to what they have to say, with full attention...and then pack up.
I know most of you pack up early, and why not? You want to get out of the classroom just as quick as any other student. Look around you when you are packing up early one day, and understand that everyone else is too. Then see if you are the reason that your professor is rushing his last thoughts of the class! One day try sitting at your desk, with full attention, and wait until your professor has finished the class. Then pack up. It wont hurt, I promise!
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Name:shadoldy Major: media studies Comments:
This is a tough call. For one thing, yes some professors do not know when to stop lecturing so that's why students pack up. On the other hand I find it disrupting when students do it loudly and cough/clear their throats, etc. To me if the student packs up early and leaves the room tne maybe the teacher will keep talking but that student will miss whatever the teacher has to say. Or on the other hand maybe the university should find some way possible to post clocks in every single classroom of EVERY single building at the school. But..(sigh) that would mean every single campus too and that costs a bit..hmm..
Comments:
Just as a professor knows whos packing up early, they know who isn't. Why complain if someone else is making you look good? And if the professor rushes through to end class early, you get out early. Keep packin up people! I like lookin good and getting out early!
Major: CS Comments:
Some teachers, though, will not stop lecturing so you must pack up, even be noisy about it. Some students have to be able to crawl across campus within 10 minutes.
Major: Geology Comments:
I agree that students should wait for the professor to quit talking before they pack up. Equally disrespectable is when student talk among themselves in class. They act like a bunch of elementary school kids.
Comments:
We sure are, Holly. Cocky too. :)~
Name:Holly Major: MFA Sculpture Comments:
I agree with the comments made about packing-up at the end of class. I especially think the comments about respect are well founded. I guess; however, there is one side of me, though, that actually likes the idiosyncracies of the student genre that only the college environment can create. We are such a self-confident group of learners, aren't we?
Comments:
"All this shows is the lack of control and authority that the professor has over his or her students." Maybe I am too new fashioned, but the professor only has as much control over the students as the student assign him or her. It's not a dictatorship. It's a free market.
Name:PeeR Comments:
I've been on both sides of this issue. As a University 100 Peer Instructor, I've experienced first-hand how irritating it is when students pack up while I am facilitating discussion, or when something important is being said. It makes you wonder what the students' priorities are. As a student, I also find it highly disrespectful. I find myself doing it in classes I have no interest in. Bottom line- it's a respect issue. If I have no respect for my professor, I'll probably pack on up the first time he/she looks at their watch.
