Title has the simple version of this: How do you feel about professors who lock the doors to the lecture hall when they begin teaching and will not allow late students to come in?
Why I ask (the TL;DR version that's just personal stuff and unnecessary ): In my first semester of nursing school, this was a standard policy. I never liked it, but I definitely understood it. Punctuality is a big thing for me, but it isn't for a lot of people these days, and the cohort needed an overarching message that nursing wasn't the profession to get into if you couldn't get it together and arrive on time. None of the other professors we had after that have felt that a locked-door policy was necessary.
That was all good and well, but now I'm on my last semester of nursing school and I have a professor with a personal policy of locking the door when the lecture begins. I disagree with it on principle, because I think it's just childish. We all pay a lot of money for the education we receive. Every moment of it is important to us. We've made it to the final stretch, and I think we've shown the faculty that we're dedicated enough and wouldn't be late without a very good reason. Depriving us of lectures we paid for because that professor refuses to cope with someone quietly coming in and sitting down is kind of ridiculous IMO. But I've always figured, hey, whatever, I'm never late to anything so it won't affect me, and I've shrugged it off.
Well, guess what? It happened. Our class is several hours long, so we get released for 5-10 minute breaks every hour or so. We were released for a 10 minute break at 10 til, and I ended up needing a bit longer in the bathroom than I thought. I got back to the classroom 2 minutes before the 10 minutes was up, and I found myself locked out. I was irate. Ten minutes hadn't even passed yet, and I knew I had to have only missed her shutting the doors by less than a minute. It was unfair and I couldn't do jack squat about it. I couldn't even leave because everything, including my purse, was locked inside the classroom that I was locked out of. It was incredibly upsetting to have to sit outside for an hour knowing I was missing the lecture and being completely powerless to do anything about it.
Now I'm not stupid enough to complain to anybody and make waves about it; you pick your battles wisely, and this one would just be stupid. But I'm definitely still angry that it happened, and I'm going to write about it on that professor's evaluation at the end of the course. It's left me wondering how other students feel about/deal with these kinds of policies, or whether they even have them.
I kept the front row of seats open for latecomers. You had to come in, sit down in the front row, and be quiet. No asking, "What did I miss? Did you get an extra handout?" and no asking questions on what I already covered and answered questions on. Nobody wanted to sit in those seats and feel people staring at the backs of their heads.
I kept the front row of seats open for latecomers. You had to come in, sit down in the front row, and be quiet. No asking, "What did I miss? Did you get an extra handout?" and no asking questions on what I already covered and answered questions on. Nobody wanted to sit in those seats and feel people staring at the backs of their heads.
omg if I ever teach I am stealing this! Brilliant! I was in the Navy and my CO always said if you were on time you were late. As in You should be there and be read to go when class starts not just walking in the door. That stuck with me.
There are other ways to address tardiness, without having a conference with the student. At my school, after a certain amount of tardies, we had to drop the class.
My teachers did lock the doors once a test had started. Our tests were timed and lots of us worked up until the last second, so they didn't want anyone losing time due to being distracted by people coming into the class. We also had to stay in our seats until the test was over.
While I agree that it's rude and distracting for people to come in late, someone opening and closing a door, putting their stuff down, and sitting in a chair shouldn't be so distracting that it affects anybody's grades. If it causes you to lose focus in a significant way, you might need to get medicated (and I mean that in a sincere, not snarky, way)!
My school had the closed (not locked) doors when I attended and everyone knew that once the double doors were closed, you just hung out and waited for break time before making an entrance.
I can still picture in my mind the individuals who disrupted my nursing classes by entering late each and every time. I found nothing pleasant about their behavior then and I do not now. Easily, I was probably the student who commuted the furthest distance. If I could get there on time for that first class, no excuse for those prima donnas.
Oh yes, and it's worse when she's a likeable person who always has a good excuse. In our curriculum there's a little slack built in in that you can get a couple fails. But late is a fail. I think that's a good way to teach us.
Sorry you didn't have a buddy to either get the door or put your stuff outside it. Surely you have one or two who can fill you in on what you missed. But in the scale of things, you'll survive.
Yes, and when you work with people you know the ones who are constantly late! NOTHING more frustrating than to have worked a horrible 12hr night shift in ICU, have your work done on time waiting to report off, then having to work over because the person replacing you is always late!
And on a sideline, when people come in late is is very disruptive to those who are already there, and very rude and inconsiderate, whether it be work, meetings or classes!
One thing about nursing as you may not know in CA. not sure, but in many places admin sets rules along the way, like it or not. And by the way, it is very rude and inconsiderate to other to walk in late!
When I took State Boards, many moons ago, it ran 2 days in a row. The locked the doors and would not allow you in, PERIOD! One girl took the whole first day then showed up late on the 2nd day and was not allowed to enter. Sometimes life just isn't fair!
Is not about locking them out of classes, is about the punctuality and the ability to follow directions. A nurse that does not follows proper directions and protocols, can eventually end up killing a patient.
Not to mention being fired for not following protocols and policies!
I have an hour commute to work. I always leave about 15 minutes early to account for traffic. If there happened to be a major accident on the way to work and I called to say I would be late I would not be told "don't bother coming, If you clock in after 7:01 the clock wont accept your punch". Life happens. Even the most responsible person can not plan for every random occurrence (including random diarrhea) Not sure why school should be any different. Just because a person is late once does not make them irresponsible.
Indeed true if it is occasionally, it is when it is chronic and for no good reason it becomes an issue.
I, too, assumed it was an age thing. I'm not an 18-20 year old like the rest of my classmates. I don't live at home. I pay every single one of my own bills and have for a long time. I don't think that the "kids" whose parents are helping them (who live at home and don't pay most of their own bills) have any less dedication, but it's a fact that a larger sacrifice is going to make you feel it more and really sharpen how serious you are about your goal. At one point last year I didn't have money for my entire semester and was distraught, thinking I'd have to take a semester off and work two jobs to save up enough in advance. I don't have a husband or parents supporting me.
So yeah, when I get locked out, it's a huge deal to me. Especially when I feel I've been treated unfairly. I make every effort to always be on time/doing the right thing, and I got burned by a policy made for irresponsible people. The tuition thing isn't meant to say, "I pay my tuition so you have to let me do what I want", but rather, I sacrifice a lot for this, and I don't appreciate it when what I see as silly rules are imposed on me. The same would go for anything else. Keep it real with me -- sit down and show me how it's reasonable to put such restrictions on an entire cohort instead of just policing the abusers. Instead, nursing school is very autocratic and tends to be, "This is what we're doing and you don't get to argue it at all so please don't bother." and it's one of the biggest problems I have with it as a whole.
Get ready for the REAL world of Nursing in many facilities!
): In my first semester of nursing school, this was a standard policy. I never liked it, but I definitely understood it. Punctuality is a big thing for me, but it isn't for a lot of people these days, and the cohort needed an overarching message that nursing wasn't the profession to get into if you couldn't get it together and arrive on time. None of the other professors we had after that have felt that a locked-door policy was necessary. 
Red Kryptonite
2,212 Posts
The walk of shame....love it!