Little-Wonder.Net - Personal domain and blog of Brenda Tan

You know, this particular professor’s unspoken rule seems to be - Thou shalt not talk in class at all, unless it is to me. Me being the professor, that is.

Breach this rule and he’d make you look like an idiot in front of everyone else in the class.

Seriously, I find this utterly ridiculous.

As students, we have to share points, things we feel may be useful to each other - and perhaps clarify some crucial material (which the professor may have mentioned like 10375275 times and so it’d be ridiculous to hold the class up and ask him again) so that one wouldn’t be confused as he proceeds to deeper things during the lecture.

Not to mention the occasional “What did he just say?” questions that may arise when gaps in memory arise from some parts of his most recent speech.

Look, I am not a student who gets a kick out of disrupting classes by talking about other irrelevant thingamajigs during a lecture. However, I demand my rights to talk (okay, whisper) with my immediate neighbours during a class when it concerns the relevant material.

What brought this on? My own experience with his ridiculous, unspoken rule this afternoon.

I was sharing some information regarding the class material to M, via whispering - may I add, just as the professor launched into an introduction of the day’s lecture.

The professor suddenly fell silent, and I looked up in surprise as he appeared at the front of my desk. Of course, everyone else in the classroom was staring at me as well.

“What seems to be the trouble here?” he asked.

I raised an eyebrow at him, quizzical and annoyed. Whatthehell? Do you mean that every time students whisper among themselves in class, it always means that they have a problem with the material? What do you take me for, an idiot? Me thinks.

Obviously missing the downright pissed off expression on my face, he continued.

“Oh, come on. Just ask me if you have any problems. What’s the trouble here? Which part of the material did you not understand? Share it with me, share it with the class!”

Couple the above with his patronizing tone as he attempts to coax me into revealing what I just said. He was obviously attempting to make a fool of me and making me out to be an idiot - a lowly, helpless student in front of every individual in the class.

My response?

“I am just sharing some information regarding the class exercises with my friend.”

Short, simple - sweet.

And it was definitely true.

However, what I really wanted to do was to scream at him: HELLO? CAN’T I JUST SHARE SOME INFORMATION REGARDING YOUR MATERIAL TO MY BUDDY WITHOUT GETTING THE THIRD DEGREE? What’s your problem, huh? Stop assuming that whispering among students during your classes means that they have trouble with the material, are clueless or confused or whatsoever crap.

Apparently, the same shit has been happening to everyone else in class who happened to be doing the same thing as me - as I’ve observed over the past two or three weeks I’ve been attending his class.

Look. You’re teaching a university that encourages proactive and collaborative classroom learning. Thus, sharing information and clarifying doubts (especially stupid doubts which you’d only dare to raise to your best buddy sitting next to you) is especially essential, even if it’s in the midst of a lecture. In fact, it’s really a common scenario here.

If you, as a relatively new faculty of this school insists on adhering to your conventional habit of simply standing there and lecturing and expecting your students’ undivided attention - then you’re in the wrong place, buddy.

And ditch that patronizing tone when you address students. I know you are completely aware that the material covered in this particular course is particularly difficult - everyone’s struggling, as you’ve realized.

But forcing the students to keep mum during your class and expecting them to direct their questions only to you during lectures is definitely not the way to go.