Do you think eating in the classroom is rude?

[Alnitak7]

In most cases I restrain myself from passing a judgement on obsessive eaters.

In recent weeks though, I have become severely agitated when I go to my classroom which has a sign right on the door reading "NO FOOD OR DRINK" and people insist on bringing their dinner or their snacks in and eating them in front of everyone while people are trying to do their work and socializing while they eat. The classroom should not be treated like their living room.

They almost seem to be testing their limits. The teacher lets them get away with it and the school has ignored the complaint I sent to them.

I find the sound of them chewing their food revolting, offensive and distracting. Sometimes the sound of the food sloshing inside their mouths gives me chills down my spine.

The cafeteria is just right in walking distance, a place where if I see them eating, I refrain from evaluating them.

They also have option to take their food outside, a place where I can easily mind my own business.

Not only do people insist on bringing food into class but also continue to eat for extended periods of time. They go get more food after they finish what they have.

Unless it's a small class with a mutual agreement about food, eating in front of people is disgusting and disrespectful.

[Alnitak7]

To the OP.

I am am sound sensitive as well. However, as a nurse you are going to have to learn to deal with noise.

You don't have to tell me about it. I've passed meds (where I already passed the exams and already know the routine) where I have to shut most of the noise out. This is not quite so easy when I'm reading difficult and unfamiliar content in my text and my grade depends on my ability to focus.

[Alnitak7]

That is not a valid comparison at all. The "rule" to wash your hands is in place to prevent the spread of communicable diseases. Handicap spots are there to allow access for individuals with disabilities. There is not some greater good to the no food/drink rule.

As one poster pointed out, the crumbs from food can bring bugs, so this is a good comparison.

In this case, with NO FOOD OR DRINK, some of us are handicapped 1. in the sense that we get distracted by the sounds, smells and sight of people eating and talking. 2. Some of us are afraid to speak up when we're annoyed.

It finally occurred to me that the teachers at most schools should be teaching their students how to advocate for themselves, especially in nursing classes or any health-related training.

I got to thinking about it and was wondering why the teacher is the only one entitled to speak up and announce that "people are taking exams," and what would they think if I spoke up?

[Alnitak7]

And if someone bears this diagnosis, I imagine nursing might be a difficult field to venture into, no?

Patients WILL be eating, drinking, pooping, peeing, scratching themselves, farting, yawning, coughing, vomiting, chewing ice, giggling, screaming.....well, anything and everything one can imagine.....and the nurse WILL be present during this.

Can't imagine trying to avoid it and still function in nursing.

For this reason, don't bring your textbooks to work, try not to do your reading while doing patient care, and then all the noise won't irritate you so much.

[Alnitak7]

I think it's petty to worry about what someone else is doing in class. Who cares if they're eating? How does that have any affect on anyone else? We're all adults and busy and trying to do multiple things at once to try and fit it all into one schedule. I see nothing wrong with it and could care less what anyone else is doing so long as it's not loud and distracting. But eating? Just as noisy as someone taking notes. Are they just eating or making a bunch of noise? Are they just taking notes or clicking their pen over and over until you want to smash their pen into a million pieces? I would argue that it's not the activity but how it's gone about.

In this case, they were loud and distracting and it was the attitude they were doing it with.

Believe me they did make a lot more noise than someone taking notes. They sat all around me when they came into class. They were acting like no one there was important except for them. So what if you have work to finish, I'm socializing and I'll have my dinner here too.

Part of being an adult is having some awareness about the needs of people around you and not making the classroom into a place to party with constant talking and eating when people have work to do.

In this class, people have been told to keep quiet and that people are have work to do. Not only was one girl constantly talking and eating but also singing in the classroom. As adults they could have asked if they were distracting me with all their noise since their talking and eating went on for at least a couple of hours.

If they had taken their food, their attitudes, and all their noise to the cafeteria, then you would be right and I would not worry about what they were doing. This classroom is supposed to be a quiet place where people can concentrate and I am not here trying to be a bully or a nit-pick.

[pmabraham, BSN, RN]

Good day:

My question is what is more rude? Eating in the classroom when that might be the only chance they can eat, or being a busy body, drama king or queen (which means minding the business of other people rather than minding their own business)? I'm told that as a nurse, we will have to deal with a lot more important issues and harder issues then when people eat and where people eat.

Thank you.

[Alnitak7]

Honestly, I think it's ridiculous that you're making a fuss about this. If they're cleaning up after themselves, mind your own business. Stop tattling and trying to make your classmates miserable. One of the most important things in life is learning how to play well with others, and this seems like they are behaving reasonably, rule or no. I fail to sympathize with you in this. I think trying to make friends will be a much better use of your time and energy than obsessing about this.

1. They did not clean up after themselves. They left trash sitting around.

2. I did not send in a complaint to make them miserable.

3. When their noise is distracting me from my work that is my business.

4. Part of playing well with others involves speaking your mind and letting your needs and feelings be known. Then I'll pick friends who care about my needs.

[IrishIzCPNP, MSN, RN, APRN, NP]

And if someone bears this diagnosis, I imagine nursing might be a difficult field to venture into, no?

Patients WILL be eating, drinking, pooping, peeing, scratching themselves, farting, yawning, coughing, vomiting, chewing ice, giggling, screaming.....well, anything and everything one can imagine.....and the nurse WILL be present during this.

Can't imagine trying to avoid it and still function in nursing.

No it wouldn't be a difficult field. I've been a nurse for a while and have no doubt I have this...and have had it for as long as I can remember. There are specific sounds or movements that cause the issue...it isn't random stuff. I don't care of you vomit or chew ice. I do want to rip your face off if you chew gum like a cow and I have to listen to your slopping spit. There are other specific triggers.

Nobody knows how these things make me feel....not even my mother (she's guilty of a trigger and has been guilty all my life).

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

The OP has received some good advice and we wish him/her well in school.