Two years ago I wrote a diary about etiquette. I felt a bit like Miss Manners, only not as funny. I am thinking a lot about this as our first encounter with freshmen (in their freshman week guise) is tomorrow, and classes start on Thursday. I do believe that there are some things that people should just know, and I am always disappointed. So I start each course with a review of what I expect from people in the class.
Now, some of this is the kind of thing in the syllabus (I expect you to complete all assignments, participate in class discussion, etc.), but some of it is the kind of thing that can fall into the category of personal conduct.
I am shocked that people will tape (and even videotape) classes without asking permission. There are of course copyright issues with images, and that is why I don't post powerpoint lectures on line. I have a friend who teaches a criminology discipline and there are images of dead bodies, that are allowed to be used in a classroom, but cannot be publicly shared. Any video-taped lecture could potentially show up on You Tube.
I made the mistake my sophomore year of not paying attention in a class. It was a class I hated, thought I should have placed out of, and took that annoyance out on the teacher. I sat in class and read a newspaper. I thought I was somewhat subtle, but of course I wasn't. Everyone in class knew that I was splitting my attention between the newspaper and the teacher. She should have said something -- she lost authority with me by letting me do this. And I lost the benefit of having a professor teach me something I really needed to know. I get by anyway, but it was rude, I was in the wrong, and if I had been confronted I would not have done it again (and I did it all the way through the semester). Thus I tell my students what I wish my prof had told me, that I don't want them to do something other than classwork while in class. I don't want them reading for another class, or studying for someone else's exam. I don't want them to read the newspaper, either. They will miss something. And if they don't think it is important to be in class, then they shouldn't be there -- if there is something else that is more important (studying for an exam, for example), then they should do that instead. If they come to class regularly they will not be hurt by missing a pop quiz (yes, I do those). I drop a couple over the course of the term, so missing one or even two won't affect their grade.
Two years ago I wrote that students should ask before bringing a computer to take notes in class. I have changed that in my classes at least -- I do not let my students to take their notes on a computer. There are studies that indicate that people who take notes on a computer transcribe what they are listening to and do not process it. I want my students to think through things and ask questions as they are sitting in class. They will miss things if they are typing away. Also there is the issue of every classroom on campus being accessible in terms of wifi. The problem of course is that there are a lot of students who will have a challenge in that they will want to surf websites or (even if they are working on classroom info) make links to images, etc., which distract them from what is going on in class, or they simply surf the internet, ignoring what is going on in class.
And if you think I don't know you are carrying on an elaborate texting conversation under the table or desk, you have another think coming. It is distracting to you of course, but it is also distracting to me. And distracting me means you distract the whole class. That is why I ask you to turn off all telephones when you come into class.
I also tell students I don't mind them bringing coffee or water or a coke into class, but they should not eat in the classroom. There are smells and sounds associated with eating that are unpleasant to some people, and even when they are not unpleasant (McDonald's fries, or pizza, for example), they are going to make others hungry or distract them. And you wouldn't want to be rude, would you? On rare occasions we will break the rules (posted outside the classroom) that says no food or drink -- I brought dates to break the fast on Ramadan one year, for example. But then it will have something to do with the class, and it will be shared among all of us.
Speaking of things that go in your mouth -- didn't your mother tell you that you should keep your mouth closed when chewing gum? Mine certainly did. And remember I am looking at the class from the front of the room -- I am looking at your uvula when you chew like that!
And a bit of general advice -- at university it doesn't help you to be generally rude. I have had experiences with students who are hostile in class, or after the class (I had a student who asked me for a letter or recommendation three years after graduating, and I remembered the things she and her partners had said in their graduation letters about how my class was the worst they had ever taken in four or five years of college. I was really hurt by that. I certainly couldn't write a letter about the student's ability to be mature and cooperative in a graduate program. I didn't write the letter). It doesn't get you anywhere to be rude. If you don't like something that is said in class, or in your evaluations, then you are certainly welcome to ask about it. I can occasionally be convinced to change my mind -- less often about my grades. I am willing to talk to you about revising deadlines, but am very unlikely to do that for you -- and if I do I will do it for the whole class. I set my schedule at the beginning of the semester -- you are responsible for figuring out how to get things done at the time they are due. Planning and working ahead will always help. A full time course load is a full time job. My job is to make sure you get exposure to the material and if you put into the class what I ask you to put into it, you will learn the material. Your grade is dependent on achieving that, not on your paying the fee for the class. You are not "owed" any grade. You will not get anywhere by telling me that you paid for it, so you should get whatever grade you need -- you will get the grade you earn (This very seldom happens, honestly, but I have been teaching for more almost 20 years, and I have had a couple of these conversations).
One final thing. I tell my students that I know for many of them this class is probably not the most important thing in your life (honest!). That doesn't offend me. But there are such things as polite fictions. You don't tell me that you would rather have been in another section and I won't know it. I will be happy to put all this effort into your success in the class, because I will pretend to believe that you really care (and you might be surprised -- sometimes that pretense becomes reality). Along the same lines, sometimes the discretion is the best course. Don't tell me that you didn't come to class because you were trying to get into a different class, but finally came because that wasn't possible (I had a student who said just that). Just say "I am sorry I missed the first couple of days of class, can I get a syllabus from you and catch up?" I think that student in the final analysis enjoyed the class. At least in subsequent years when he had contact with me because I was in charge of a university program he was participating in. If he had not worked his way through this conversation with me, where he was shocked that I didn't think it was appropriate for him to tell me I was his last choice class, even if that were the case. He has learned, and I have learned to let it pass by, and we are both the better for it.
I am looking forward to the semester, and I always am. I am lucky with my job; I get paid to read books and learn stuff, and talk about it with excited students who have never known about the material I am teaching them -- it is the best of jobs. In addition, it is relatively secure, and although my university is at most in the bottom half of pay, we live in an inexpensive location, and I can afford to splurge occasionally. On books or travel or conferences. Or maybe, even, Netroots Nation next July.