My brother and I were recently discussing the irritating people we encounter on a day to day basis in our classes. Only two days in, I can tell you that the roster for my spring quarter is already irking my drawers. The problem of the annoying classmate is an epidemic that has struck colleges for years. They come in all shapes and sizes, and their weapons can range from talking too much to not showering enough. I give you my diagnoses:
- The know it all: This person's hand is in the air every question asked, and ofcourse, they have a very logical response to it. I know it's good for your ego, but let somebody else give the question a stab for once, at least ONCE.
- The Distracter: I am already distracted enough as it is. There are so many things that are easy to control, but hard for others not to watch. To name a few there's the gum chomper, the kid who talks to the person behind them, laptop movie kid, laptop facebook kid, laptop bejeweled kid, Smelly Dude, Texts McGee, etc. Just try to be aware of your classmates, Maybe start taking a shower twice a week instead of once a month, and I know they're nervous habits, but for the love of God, please keep the foot twitching, chair bouncing, and pencil tapping to a bare minimum.
- Kid that extrapolates their own personal experiences and tiny worldview to explain an entire history or event being discussed: self-explanatory. Get some observation goggles. There's a whole world out there, and just because your father knows a guy who etc., etc., etc., doesn't make it the rule.
- I'm the only one in this class person: He or she asks questions as if they are the only one in the entire class. "Hey Prof, did you get my email?" or "I'm not gonna be here tomorrow is there anything I need to do?" I'll give you something you need to do: take off your blinders; there's 300 of us in here.
- Loud Conversation Group: The people who sit and discuss their dumb philosophies, fest-filled weekends, or latest vom incident. Chat all you want, but I shouldn't be able to hear your embarrassing stories from the classroom next door.
- Question Girl: Finds any excuse to ask a question. Wants the teacher to recognize and know her, but moreover, she wants the class to recognize and know her. Question Girl is the first cousin of Tell Dumb Stories Boy.
- isthisgonnabeonthetest kid:This student will never participate in class discussions. They will only raise their hands to ask the professor one thing: Is this gonna be on the test? Asking this question shows much about you. Not only, does it tell the professor you couldn't care less about their class, it tells them you care even less about your true learning Word up to these kids, your professors hate you.
There was a student in my politics class last quarter who was the perfect example of a good classmate. He was smart. He knew his crap. He could have easily answered every question brought up in class, but he didn't. Then, when he did answer, it wasn't bull shit. It was logic and reasoning, examples and intelligent wording; the kid practically sung his answers in perfect tune. It is because he knew we'd have to spend the next two hours with him, and being an idiot wouldn't help the situation.
Folks, I suggest you take this student's example, and be considerate of the others in your classes. You don't have to know everything and you don't have to tell all 500 of us how awesome you are. If you do the work, share what you know when the professor asks this of you. Otherwise, pay attention to them because, who knows, maybe you'll learn something.
