<p>While I was overnighting at the University, I heard multiple references to the “that kids” of Chicago, but no definitive definition. What exactly is a “that kid” and how common are they at the University?</p>
<p>Apparently it’s the type of kid that tries to show off his/her own useless knowledge, always raising his/her hand to take the class off on random tangents that even the professor doesn’t want to hear.</p>
<p>For those of you there on the April 16 overnight, the way that girl (ha… “THAT girl”) explained the “that kid” phenomenon ****ed me off a lot for some reason… just had to vent about that. I thought she was talking about the kid who asked the question, which was funny… but she wasn’t, so it became unfunny.</p>
<p>If that definition isn’t completely right someone please correct me–and i sure hope the “that kid” isn’t that common at the university. It is certainly not specific to Chicago only, it just might occur in a higher volume.</p>
<p>This sums it up! [YouTube</a> - “That Guy” Action Figure - UChicago Scav Hunt 2008 - BJ](<a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBO7pphKTtU]YouTube”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBO7pphKTtU)</p>
<p>from what i heard from the kids at my house, you’ll usually get an average of one “that kid” per class. they defined “that kid” as the kid who finds extra readings to relate to the current readings, and other generally annoying things, to flaunt his/her knowledge and impress their professors. haha, i definitely got the impression that they are not generally well-liked.</p>
<p>If we label the classroom Q&A “that kid” as a type A, then there is also a type B that kid male who: wears wolf shirts, sports a full beard, pulls down a double major in medieval studies and computer science, and spends his weekends at competitive board game tournaments. Type B that kids could be found in great numbers as late as year 2000 at UChicago, but the convenient truth is that they are slowly dwindling into extinction. A reserve remains in Portland, Oregon (<em>cough</em> Reed <em>cough</em>).</p>
<p>Hey come on. I’m in high school right now, and I’m being taught to do extra reading and to find readings related to the literature at hand. I’m scared… I don’t wanna be “that kid”…</p>
<p>I empathize with lalaland, though I’m much to lazy to seek out other readings. If a kid wants to contribute his or her experiences, in a non-arrogant and effective manner, then why be disparaging? </p>
<p>This sort of academic alienation seems very un-Chicago, though maybe it will make more sense when I get there.</p>
<p>I’ve had a grand total of one of these kids throughout my high school career in my AP Chem class (I know, I know - weird, not in a humanities class?). From what I can tell, it’s not so much that these people know more and/or want to contribute, it’s just their attitude when they’re trying to add to the discussion? You can tell they’re fishing for the “Wow, you’re so smart” reactions, and it gets old really really fast.</p>
<p>@ uchicagoalum: Hehe, I dunno. I think I’d like the Type B “that kids.” (I really should’ve applied to Reed but my parents gave me a complete and resounding “No” about going to college in Oregon.)</p>
<p>Another perspective from a Harvard student (who references the U of C!)
[The</a> Harvard Crimson :: Opinion :: Demise of the Nerds](<a href=“http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=527274]The”>http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=527274)</p>
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<p>In every class I’ve had save for one, there have been a few students who tend to participate very frequently. This frequency, in my opinion, only becomes a bad thing when a) the student is preventing others from participating, or b) one gets the feeling that the student is commenting only to show they understand/have read the material.</p>
<p>If you think you’re a that kid…
– try to limit not only how many times you raise your hand in class, but also the length of your commment
– think before you speak. say something that makes a point and isn’t repetitive
– don’t stand outside of Cobb before class and smoke
– don’t use big words without providing a context.</p>
<p>Asked S1 about this. He said the “that kids” he could identify were the ones who enjoyed arguing for the sake of arguing versus arguing to further elucidate a topic of discussion. He said he never had a problem with anyone who brought in information from further reading or used other rhetorical devices to make interesting or important contributions. He said the “that kid” syndrome also had to do with the way a person contributed as much as what was contributed. Dismissive, failing to incorporate other’s ideas, etc. often irritates other students in a class.</p>
<p>S’s has had the same complaint about people that talk a lot without saying anything or really contributing anything to the discussion. There are not too many of those, but every class has at least one and it’s probably more of a problem in the Hum/Soc classes. I don’t see how that would work in Math and Physics.</p>
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<p>I haven’t seen too much of it in my (higher) math classes, but I can assure you that it exists. It usually involves a student who has seen the material being taught before and has to make some comment that indicates such. For instance:</p>
<p>I intended to sit in on a vector calculus class my first year to brush up on some skills, but decided against it when on the first day, the student sitting behind me would raise his hand before every step of the professor’s constructions and tell him what to do next. This is probably the most obnoxious behavior I’ve been confronted with so far. Curiously, I’ve never had much experience with "that kid"s in HUM/SOSC, nor in my upper math classes.</p>
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<p>Unfortunately, not too many nerdy kids are at either MIT or Chicago these days, it seems to me. The few people I would characterize as nerdy attend public engineering schools such as IIT and Purdue because “elite” schools were turned off by their personalities.</p>
<p>That was an unusually good Crimson article, and it does a good job of pointing out why Harvard College is so hot in a way, prestige aside.</p>