Respect for professors goes beyond the classroom

It is not an uncommon occurrence for a class to end with the slapping of notebooks and the sound of zippers buzzing, however, it is disheartening when these sounds drown out the sound of an unfinished lecture. It is not only disrespectful to the professor in front of the class trying to teach, but it is equally disrespectful to the students in the class who are trying to listen to the full lecture.

I am not trying to paint myself as the perfect student by saying this, because I am nowhere near blameless. There have been times when I was the instigator who prompted the chorus of the ‘end of class song.’ Take a moment to put yourself in the shoes of the professor standing at the front of the class. They are only trying to do their job and provide the class with important information, but at that point, the students in the class are making it clear that they could not care less.

Packing up before the end of class is not the only way that professors are disrespected though. Outbursts of talking and laughter are equally disrespectful. The professor at the front of the class has gone through more school than most of us can imagine at this point in our lives, yet we interrupt class thinking that our trivial conversations could somehow be more enlightening than what our professors have to say.

When you walk into class, humble yourself and leave any entitlement at the door, because the person teaching you that day has a firm grasp on the content of that class. And not only have they gone to a significant amount of effort to prepare the information they are presenting, they are spending their valuable time standing in front of you trying to help you get substance out of a class that you are paying to be in.

When you are in class, the professor is the authority figure. It is not hard to show up to class on time, pay attention and sit for the duration of the lecture. Not only does showing respect for authority apply to your higher education, but it also applies to your future career. If students treated their boss the same way that they treat some of their professors, they would be on the fast track to getting fired.

College is meant to be a preparation for the real world, so it is time that we started treating it as such. Authority is something that we will always have to deal with, and college is the last chance that we get to put respect into practice before the consequences affect more than a three credit hour course.