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Sound as if the professor or instructor needs to step up his or her game and challenge the students.
I agree. I'm back in school and class participation and attention really depend on the professor. There have been night classes where most everyone is tired and the material could be boring if it weren't for the professors' teaching genius. In those classes, students would always have their hands up seeking the professor's attention. And not just mature adult "return students". They were kids in the late teens and early 20's!
How can that be?
Because it takes a great professor to turn gobbledy-goo into gold. Boring professors are intelligent but fail to communicate on any interesting and meaningful level with the student. A good instructor can turn a dry diagnostic manual into fine literature. A bad instructor can kill Shakespeare.
What should college teacher do about student who put down his head and goes to sleep, but passes the tests
My answer is: Nothing.
College is not K - 12. It is a place for those who are (presumably) adults. Professors are not babysitters, truancy officers or the guardians of a students habits, lifestyle/life and or the students money. At the college level, you (or your parents, or the GI Bill*, gov't loans*, gov't grants* or scholarships) cover the expense. The student gets out of the experience what (s)he puts into it.
* read "taxpayer"
I went back to school about 15 years ago to complete my Masters. I saw and experienced the dedicated, the brilliant, the bored/boring,the indifferent, the inept and the insane...both professors and students. There were tenured professors who had absolutely no business teaching (IMHO) and students who would have been better served elsewhere (for a variety of reasons. But I digress. At the university I attended, very few of the professors insisted on "class participation." Acquiring the knowledge to do the assignments and pass the exams, attendance, withdrawing or dropping a class, maintaining a GPA requirement, etc., was the students' responsibility. In 3 years, I only saw one professor who didn't follow policy of assigning a failing grade or Zero to those students who failed to handle their responsibilities as an informed(?) member of the university system.
If a student is doing well on the tests and obviously understands the material, why does the instructor care if the student sleeps in class?
Because it is disrespectful, and in my opinion, insulting. If you stayed up all night watching TV, partying, studying, or attending to any other issue that took you away from sleep then just stay home. It is absolutely rude of you to come into class after one of these nights only to fall asleep and quite frankly it concerns me that so many of you seem to think that such behavior is okay.
Yes, you, or your parents, or a philanthropist (organization), or the taxpayers payed for your college experience and you can do what you want with it, but if your whole attitude is I am an adult, I'll attend and/or sleep in class if/when I want then just get a job at Wal-Mart or something. I mean seriously, why bother? College is your choice. You are not forced against your will to be there. If you cannot attend class on a regular basis, make at least a half-a$$ed attempt at participating in class, or at the slightest, just giving a sh*t, than don't bother. Drop out and give up your seat to someone who might actually appreciate and take advantage of the situation. You are supposed to be a mature adult in this situation. Act like one.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ivorytickler
As I recall, attendance at the college level is optional. So is paying attention. It's their dollar and their choice. If they can pass without paying attention, more power to them. Their grade should reflect their level of mastery of the material not how well they paid attention in class.
My college has a school-wide policy that states three consecutive absences will be treated as an automatic withdrawal from the course. Only one of my teachers this academic year even bothers to take attendance. He is pretty old-school, though, been teaching for like forty years. All of my other profs have the attitude that you are either there or not, and it is your business as to which you choose. One of my profs last semester threw out a random tidbit during lecture that had the possibility of appearing on an exam as an extra credit question. He did this right at the beginning of the class, so if you were late you missed it. It was an incentive to get students to show up (on time) and to pay attention. I have another prof this semester who will give out certain vital information or a random project offering extra points for those who 'bothered' to show up on days when class attendance is particularly low.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Finger Laker
At the collegiate level it should definitely be the choice of the student on what they value - after all they are paying for the experience
True, but why would you, or anybody, be willing to pay $100 to $2,000 a credit just to be able to ditch out on class. If you know the material, save yourself some serious cash and take the CLEP exam if you need the credit. Or just test out of it if you don't.
Quote:
Originally Posted by psr13
It didn't matter why you left early. If you left early it was considered an absence. You could be ten minutes late to class and only be marked tardy, though. Why do professors get to be as late as they want? I know it's because they are professors, but the double standards have always bugged me.
If you need to cut out of class early, then tell the professor. If not, than just wait the extra five minutes.
Professors are the ones calling the shots, not you. Go ask your boss why he can be late and not you and see how long you remain employed. It's just the way the ball bounces.
If you told him you had to leave early he told you just to leave and be marked absent. I was almost late to where I had to go because I waited so long to leave. I wouldn't have a problem with it if people who were five minutes late were treated the same way. They weren't, though. I am studying to be a teacher, and I am telling you that it isn't right to do things that way. If a student can't be late, I can't be late. If a student can't miss a certain number of classes and pass, I can't miss those classes and get paid either. It's utterly ridiculous. Most of our professors were late to every single class. Some of them were usually at least ten minutes late. They are paid to be there, and they should be there.
If you told him you had to leave early he told you just to leave and be marked absent. I was almost late to where I had to go because I waited so long to leave. I wouldn't have a problem with it if people who were five minutes late were treated the same way. They weren't, though. I am studying to be a teacher, and I am telling you that it isn't right to do things that way. If a student can't be late, I can't be late. If a student can't miss a certain number of classes and pass, I can't miss those classes and get paid either. It's utterly ridiculous. Most of our professors were late to every single class. Some of them were usually at least ten minutes late. They are paid to be there, and they should be there.
I am not sure where you go to school but this policy seems a little over the top. Maybe it does happen, but I have never heard of a professor marking a student absent just for leaving class a few minutes early, especially if the student informed the teacher of their reason(s) for needing to leave early. Your comment about having most of your professors walk into class late interests me, primarily because I want to know what kind of institution would attract such careless teachers.
Because it is disrespectful, and in my opinion, insulting. If you stayed up all night watching TV, partying, studying, or attending to any other issue that took you away from sleep then just stay home. It is absolutely rude of you to come into class after one of these nights only to fall asleep and quite frankly it concerns me that so many of you seem to think that such behavior is okay.
Yes, you, or your parents, or a philanthropist (organization), or the taxpayers payed for your college experience and you can do what you want with it, but if your whole attitude is I am an adult, I'll attend and/or sleep in class if/when I want then just get a job at Wal-Mart or something. I mean seriously, why bother? College is your choice. You are not forced against your will to be there. If you cannot attend class on a regular basis, make at least a half-a$$ed attempt at participating in class, or at the slightest, just giving a sh*t, than don't bother. Drop out and give up your seat to someone who might actually appreciate and take advantage of the situation. You are supposed to be a mature adult in this situation. Act like one.
I think the problem here is a difference in opinion about what the college experience is supposed to be. You obviously think that learning is accomplished in the classroom. Yes, some professors were very good teachers, and I learned a lot from their lectures. Other were horrible, and I learned the material from the books. So, why did I bother with these classes? They were required for my degree. NOBODY wants to pay for a class with a horrible, boring instructor. As anyone who attended college can tell you, you typically don't have a choice.
If an instructor is insulted that people are sleeping in their class, they need to look at their teaching style. Good instructors don't have that problem.
I think the problem here is a difference in opinion about what the college experience is supposed to be. You obviously think that learning is accomplished in the classroom. Yes, some professors were very good teachers, and I learned a lot from their lectures. Other were horrible, and I learned the material from the books. So, why did I bother with these classes? They were required for my degree. NOBODY wants to pay for a class with a horrible, boring instructor. As anyone who attended college can tell you, you typically don't have a choice.
If an instructor is insulted that people are sleeping in their class, they need to look at their teaching style. Good instructors don't have that problem.
I am not talking about the college experience. I am saying, though, that if a student is that tired, then just stay home. Or take a nap in the library, perhaps. You don't think that it is rude to fall asleep in the classroom?
As for boring teachers; we've all had (or will have) at least one. Now, you mentioned the college experience, so what, do you think that it is the professors job to keep you entertained? You're supposed to be an adult, if you are bored in the classroom then that is your problem. The only message that you are sending to the teacher (and fellow classmates) by falling asleep at your desk is that you are a jac**ss (and by 'you', I don't mean you personally sckhi).
And do I need to mention that if you find a particular teacher boring then you can, and should, drop that class and pick up another section? With things like ratemyprofessor and the internet in general, not to mention the fact that students talk about the professors that they love and hate, you should have a good idea of which teachers to take and which ones to avoid. I have no need, nor desire, to take a Sociology course, but if I did I have a pretty good idea of which professors I would like to take, and the ones that I should avoid. I never asked for that information, either. Like I said, students talk sh*t about bad professors and rave about the one's that are awesome. It's just something that you pick up around campus.
Just so you know, I understand that different people have different learning styles. If someone wants to only attend class twice in one semester that is their business. I just do not understand why someone would willing pay hundreds to thousands of dollars (depending on the college) for a course if they are not going to bother to show up, especially since the student can save money by either testing out of the course or taking something like the CLEP where they can test out of the course and receive the credits.
i went to a university that believed the mean should be between 50-60 and the distribution around that mean should largely determine grade. This basically eliminated the idea of a 90+ grade on an exam.
That students can sleep through class and pass means that either the class is too easy or his lectures provide no value added.
I am not talking about the college experience. I am saying, though, that if a student is that tired, then just stay home. Or take a nap in the library, perhaps. You don't think that it is rude to fall asleep in the classroom?
As for boring teachers; we've all had (or will have) at least one. Now, you mentioned the college experience, so what, do you think that it is the professors job to keep you entertained? You're supposed to be an adult, if you are bored in the classroom then that is your problem. The only message that you are sending to the teacher (and fellow classmates) by falling asleep at your desk is that you are a jac**ss (and by 'you', I don't mean you personally sckhi).
And do I need to mention that if you find a particular teacher boring then you can, and should, drop that class and pick up another section? With things like ratemyprofessor and the internet in general, not to mention the fact that students talk about the professors that they love and hate, you should have a good idea of which teachers to take and which ones to avoid. I have no need, nor desire, to take a Sociology course, but if I did I have a pretty good idea of which professors I would like to take, and the ones that I should avoid. I never asked for that information, either. Like I said, students talk sh*t about bad professors and rave about the one's that are awesome. It's just something that you pick up around campus.
Just so you know, I understand that different people have different learning styles. If someone wants to only attend class twice in one semester that is their business. I just do not understand why someone would willing pay hundreds to thousands of dollars (depending on the college) for a course if they are not going to bother to show up, especially since the student can save money by either testing out of the course or taking something like the CLEP where they can test out of the course and receive the credits.
It's not that difficult to understand. The General College has course requirements in different subject areas. You HAVE to take those classes. Some of them may not interest you at all.
Don't take it personally. Some students are awake but they're not listening to a thing the instructor is saying. It's not much different. It's just more obvious.
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