Venkat89

I'd say discreetly texting or reading something else is a lot more respectful than when I was in high school and would just put my head down and sleep. Compulsory education was a waste of time for me when teachers went over the same lecture for the third day in a row.

nontraditional

It's your money they're wasting too.

People who don't pay attention to the lecture (and, even more, people who are a distraction during the lecture) are a big part of the reason deans lean on faculty to dumb courses down and inflate grades, and they're a big part of the reason faculty give up and stop caring about undergraduate education.

Do you think about why students who are talented and hardworking enough that they could have gotten As 30 years ago can't demonstrate to grad schools that they're better than the students who would have had Cs back then? When you hear complaints about schools where teaching assistants take on a lot of the lower-division courses, do you think about why the people who can afford to refuse to teach undergraduates exercise that privilege?

nyuwishabee

"Most people can keep it discreet, and if texting is distracting because you are reading the screen of the person in front of you..."

Haha I totally do this. I may not know my classmates' names, but I know all their personal drama.

insomniatic

I always laugh at the fact that some people think they are so important that they need to constantly be using their phones.

bartleby

It's how I got through high school, so why wouldn't I keep doing it in college?

burgler09

I think it's more funny when people care what others do. As long as they don't actually answer their phone in class... who cares. If someone were to answer their phone in class, I would just think they are a complete tool trying to look cool, or it could be something very important. I remember one person in my class answered his phone often because he was expecting a child. -- No one had a problem :P

nyuwishabee

I really don't think anyone uses their phone to look cool or important. I couldn't care less what random kids in a lecture think of me and I doubt other college kids do.

fabrizio

But that’s not the same thing as a regular phone call! That’s a bona fide emergency! For something of that nature, even if the father to-be is grossly irresponsible, his sheer excitement will likely cause him to inform the professor about it. If the professor knows you’re expecting an emergency situation, he’s not going to be that mad at all.

I really guess college culture regarding professor-student etiquette has changed since we were born. I recall a story about an MBA student at Harvard Business School. (Sorry, don’t have a source.) At that time, there were no cell phones, only pagers. The student received a message and promptly left the class. After the lecture finished, the student went to the professor and apologized, saying that had he not left the class, he would have lost a deal worth $250,000. But, why did he apologize? Because he knew that what he did was impolite!

If you guys are going to do stuff like read the newspaper in class, text, "discreetly" talk, or Facebook, at least admit that it's not polite. I don't care if you do it, but please, please, be fair and recognize that what you're doing isn't nice to the professor.

burgler09

nyu, you actually answer your phone during lecture? I'd be ****ed hahah, I don't care if I can't hear you but that's as annoying as the damn people who share their life stories with the professor .. especially in the science and math courses.. uff

insomniatic

I could care less what other people do. I just get a kick out of people who can't be away from their cell phone.

oldelecdude

I think you guys are missing the point.

I'm not paying for an education, I'm paying for a degree. If I need to learn something I'll learn it myself. I don't need to sit there and decode the ramblings of the crackpot old chinese gentleman at the front of the class.

So yea, I'll show up blazed, play counterstrike, answer a question or two, and check out the poontang, but pay attention? Hell no.

burgler09

oldelecdude.... there is a big difference.... CS 1.6 or Source?

oldelecdude

1.6 is better for a learning environment

specify

Oh hello, we have a winner..

Times change. If you've never done any of these "disrespectful" things before in class, you're in the shrinking minority.

fabrizio

It's hard to detect sarcasm in writing, and it's even harder to detect it when all you have to judge from is a short Internet post. I mean, think about how long "A Modest Proposal" is! Swift gives you ample time to realize, "Oh, wait, this isn't meant to be taken literally!"

Having that said, I can only conclude that oldelecdude is being sarcastic.