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.
When school becomes your life and you have to leave early (or perhaps a student left late) with no time to grab lunch, get over it. I hope you never go into a patient's room when they are eating. I'd hate for you to have those chills running down your spine. The horror.
I have been with hundreds of patients while they're eating. This does not bother me because it's their own private space. The difference is I am not trying to study and therefore they can't hurt my grades. Also remember this post is about eating in the classroom, not eating in ones own private quarters.
I don't mind when people eat snacks in class but if it's hot food I do mind.
But you never know what their situation is... They might be hypoglycemic and need to eat at that time.
Even though I have hypoglycemia I still don't bring my dinner into the classroom and still do not snack for extended periods in places where there is a NO FOOD OR DRINK sign right on the door and where there are high numbers of people who I don't know and when I don't know their pet peeves. There are things you can eat that only take two minutes to finish and don't have much smell.
If there is a sign on the door of the classroom that says "NO FOOD OR DRINK", then your teacher is doing a poor job of enforcing the rules. That being said, I don't mind food or drink as along as whatever people are consuming isn't smelling up the classroom or they are not leaving their food trash all over the desks and floor. People are busy and sometimes the only time they get to eat or drink is in class. Some people can't focus if they're hungry. Sometimes classes are long and people get the munchies. Yes, they can eat during the breaks but not every teacher gives long breaks.
In this case, I notice they did leave crumbs on the floor. Also, because they brought their dinner in, they must have not cared if it created an odor or not.
I am one of those with 4-5 hour long lectures, with 10 minute breaks every hour and a half or so. Most of us eat in class. As long as it isn't too loud or smelly.
The sounds that drives me crazy are people clearing their throats or sniffling- basically mucousy sounds. Yuck.
I think the difference here is that there is a mutual agreement so no one there is quietly suffering and no one feels completely helpless.
Chip bags. So funny that this thread is on here because I just about could not hear our lecture instructor over the multiple people digging into their chip bags this last week. I don't mind at all if people eat in class...I get that some people don't have a chance to grab something so they do so during class. But people digging around in their chip bags, especially when there are like a dozen people doing so, is really distracting. I have moved to various spots around the room, but it's still difficult to listen with the symphony of crumpling bags...
I also noticed in one class, someone who brought a sub sandwich into the classroom and ate it. From what I know, it was someone who was diabetic.
What I noticed about it is that he was done eating by the time the class lecture started. Others could learn from this example.
It really should not take extended periods of time to eat when it's for health reasons.
If food is not allowed in the classroom then the instructor needs to address it. If they won't then go to the Department head. Keep going up the chain of command so to speak. If they say they don't care then they need to remove the sign. Not much else to it.
I hope they try to find out how many people plan to drop out of their school first because their classroom is supposed to be quiet and it isn't
Our lectures have always been several hours all at once, so food is almost a part of our culture, and many of us are too busy to eat before class or wait until after. In fact, we have had several lectures where we've done potlucks. During our psych class, we had a tin that got passed around, and a different person would bake something and bring it each week. It was a fun thing to look forward to!
I can't imagine some of our 6 hour days without food in class. Plus, half of the time, if we DO have a break, we're running for the ONE microwave on campus to heat something up, or trying to get through the snack bar at the school as fast as possible, so we are then eating and drinking in class after the break.
Here again, you have a mutual agreement so no one here is being insulted by someone eating while they try to do their work. I also think these potlucks are set up so they do not disrupt the work that goes on in class.
I worked 40+ hours/week while in nursing school. Sometimes if I wanted dinner, the only time I could eat it was during class. If you don't like it, move to another area I'm sure the ENTIRE class isn't eating, just a few people who you might dislike anyways. Just wait until you're a nurse, the sounds you'll hear will be much more revolting than someone chewing.
You have to remember that I very rarely ever study or do classwork in my workplace. For this reason most of their noise never bothers me.
Even though I have hypoglycemia I still don't bring my dinner into the classroom and still do not snack for extended periods in places where there is a NO FOOD OR DRINK sign right on the door and where there are high numbers of people who I don't know and when I don't know their pet peeves. There are things you can eat that only take two minutes to finish and don't have much smell.
But you post in large fonts in a place where you don't know my pet peeves. And larger than necessary fonts are a pet peeve of mine. I normally don't complain about it. But I figure if I don't throw some stones back your way, you might run out.
If this gets you riled up, nursing will drive you batty for sure.
Actually, I remember overhearing some complaints about a charge nurse who they said was a compulsive eater. Some of the nurses were offended by her. Here again is the problem of eating that goes on for extended periods of time in places where it should not be.
Alnitak7
561 Posts
I have been with hundreds of patients while they're eating. This does not bother me because it's their own private space. The difference is I am not trying to study and therefore they can't hurt my grades. Also remember this post is about eating in the classroom, not eating in ones own private quarters.