The annoying classmates

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

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Hi Everyone,

I am in my 9th week of A and P and ready to pull my hair out! :banghead: It is my fault for not speaking up sooner, but I have a hard time speaking up, so I just grin and bare it. Please give me some advice on what you would do. The first person is the girl that sits next to me. She is 37 and she texts on that cell phone all the time (even during tests). She plays the drum with her pen on the desk craks her gum and chews it like a cow. She happily does homework for students that pay her!!! C'mon...she's suppose to be an adult! Then I have the high school sweethearts:redbeathe that sit behind me and talk the whole time and click their pens the whole 2 hours! There is not a closer seat to sit in, so the only thing I could do is tell the instructor. I hate the idea of looking like a tattle-tale. I'm 41 and paying out of pocket for my classes, so I really can't afford to retake them. Thanks for any suggestions.

She is allowed to text during an exam??

Specializes in LTC, Orthopedics.

Hey,

Are we in the same A and P class? Oh wait no, I have a classmate that has a PERSONAL STORY that they add to every part of the lecture....... I swear it takes us 3 classes to get through what it should take 1 class!!! Finally the instructor caught on (after all of us rolling our eyes and sighing every ten minutes) she just told him that she would be more than happy to talk to him after class about it!!!!

I would talk to the instructor about your situation.....YOUR RIGHT YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT YOUR CLASSMATES!!!! It is hard enough to learn this stuff in the first place......

i know i'm like that too. Especially during lecture I want piece and quiet without any distractions so I can be able to listen. My advice to you is to scope out the classroom area and find a quieter area where you can sit (heck i'd pull over a chair and sit in a corner if i had to), and tell the instructor that there are particular students in the class that are being disruptive to your learning, and asked to be moved. I've talked to my physiology teacher before about students making comments and talking during class, and it was no big deal. Teacher announced to the class that it was brought to her attention that some students were being disruptive and she became more aware of what students were doing while she lectured and if students were talking, the teacher would quickly say something.

I'm not a very confrontational person but I'm pretty sure your not the only student in the class that feels that way, besides no one has the right to disrupt your learning. tell the teacher if you have to.

Specializes in Cardio-Pulmonary; Med-Surg; Private Duty.

Check out this thread:

https://allnurses.com/pre-nursing-student/girl-who-texting-344589.html

You're DEFINITELY not the only one!

Last week some chick behind me was painting her fingernails during lecture. Others were carrying on full-on conversations, not even trying to whisper. ARGH! Some of us mentioned it to the instructor, and she commented about it before the next class, asking people to keep disruptions to a minimum -- it was quieter that time, at least.

The thing that kills me is how the people doing the most talking, etc., are the ones griping about getting a D or E on their exams. One of them even complained that she doesn't have time to read the chapter in the book because, "I've got a job and a husband and kids, I don't have time for all that!" Then what the heck is she doing in a college course???

And this is physiology, it's not like Basket Weaving 101 or Water Aerobics... it's SUPPOSED to be a tough class! I just can't even imagine her in the nursing program... if Physiology is "too hard" and takes "too much time" away from her other obligations. what is she expecting nursing school to be like, a walk in the park?

Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.

Politely tell them that if they don't stop doing that with their pens and pencils you are going to take it from them and stab it in their eye. It works, not that I would know first hand :|

I can relate with so many of these, people often tell me I was born without my filter. I will hear things and get so frustrated and no one else even notices. Drives me insane.

Thanks for all of your replies everyone! I'm sure I am not the only one that feels this way. I will probably say something to the teacher. I am just not gutsie enough. "SSULLY", I think we might be in the same class!!! The guy you mentioned is in my class! He has a story everytime the teacher says something about anything...he either had it or experienced it! He is a dip!!! He has to say something just to hear himself talk! Is his name David??? :chuckle

Well, I would NEVER talk or text in class. Ugh...

But...

I AM guilty of tapping my pen/tapping my feet/fidgeting/moving around a lot/twirling my pen/any other fidgety kind of movement. Though I keep my noise to a minimum.

Don't use that as an excuse for doing poorly in class or not being able to pay attention. I pretty sure it won't be nice and quiet on your unit when you are a nurse. ;)

Anyone foolish enough to whine about it or say something to me about would get an earful. It's not physically possible for everyone to sit still. ;)

Specializes in Cardio-Pulmonary; Med-Surg; Private Duty.
I AM guilty of tapping my pen/tapping my feet/fidgeting/moving around a lot/twirling my pen/any other fidgety kind of movement. Though I keep my noise to a minimum. ... Anyone foolish enough to whine about it or say something to me about would get an earful. It's not physically possible for everyone to sit still. ;)

Why is it foolish for someone to expect you to be considerate of others and behave appropriately in public? Do you think it's acceptable for you to make noise in a church service or at a funeral?

Here's a post of mine that you might want to read: https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-student/do-you-ever-329932-page4.html#post3085767

As an update to the linked post, my son who NEVER got his morning work done in class all through second grade, even with the teachers reminding him constantly, is now getting his work done on time every single day, without any reminders from the teachers, since I got him the Tangletoy Junior (each section is on a swivel, so you can turn each joint). He's also been bumped up one grade level in math -- he goes to the fourth grade room during math time.

If you're a "fidgety" type person, one of these silent fidget toys might allow you the outlet that you need, without being a distraction to your classmates. Movement doesn't have to be noisy... you can "not sit still" and still be quiet at the same time.

Why is it foolish for someone to expect you to be considerate of others and behave appropriately in public? Do you think it's acceptable for you to make noise in a church service or at a funeral?

It's as foolish as asking the hearing impaired person to stop asking the teacher to repeat something. ;) Not everyone CAN sit still. It's not about 'bahaving approprietely' nor is it that anyone else's decision as to what constitutes appropriate. As to church and funerals, I don't go to church but when I did we went to a church where everyone shouted Amens and Hallelujahs and jumped around. ;) The only funeral I've been to was my daughter's and i wasn't really quiet at that either.

Remember... YOUR standard may not be EVERYONE'S standard and isn't really any more appropriate than someone else's.

If you're a "fidgety" type person, one of these silent fidget toys might allow you the outlet that you need, without being a distraction to your classmates. Movement doesn't have to be noisy... you can "not sit still" and still be quiet at the same time.

I am rarely noisy. Though I was not aware of 'fidget' toys. :D

Specializes in Cardio-Pulmonary; Med-Surg; Private Duty.
It's as foolish as asking the hearing impaired person to stop asking the teacher to repeat something. ;) Not everyone CAN sit still. It's not about 'bahaving approprietely' nor is it that anyone else's decision as to what constitutes appropriate.

My point wasn't that everyone should "sit still" but rather that someone should be able to "not sit still" while still being quiet.

It's not any different than being in a movie theater with a jerk with a cell phone. I'm not saying the jerk doesn't have a right to own a phone, or that he doesn't have a right to talk into his phone... just that it's not appropriate for him to talk into his cell phone while in a movie theater (during the show) -- if he needs to make/take a phone call, he can leave the theater and have his conversation in the lobby area.

Same with a fidgety person. You have a right to not sit stone-still, but you do not have a right to do jumping-jacks or make incessant tapping noises that distract others in a situation where quiet and calm behavior is expected. (and unless you're in some sort of performing arts class, it is a generally accepted societal norm that people will sit and be quiet in a standard classroom)

If you want to do jumping-jacks or make noises, you are perfectly free to remove yourself from the classroom and do your business where you won't distract others. Or, you can find an alternate (socially acceptable) outlet for your wiggly tendencies.

The girl next to me chews on the cap of her pen during exams (quietly, not like a Rottweiler with a t-bone!). If I look directly at her face, I would notice the chewing, but just "in general" I would never know that she's having a fidgety experience, because she found a socially acceptable/appropriate way to channel her excess energy. She has that right, and I don't begrudge her that one bit.

It's not the fact that you're fidgety that's the problem -- it's the fact that you think that you have the right to distract others (by making noise with your pen) with your fidgeting that is the issue. You can fidget until your fingers fall off for all I care -- just find a quiet way of doing it, please, out of consideration (common courtesy) for those around you.

Specializes in CTICU/CVICU.
Hey,

Are we in the same A and P class? Oh wait no, I have a classmate that has a PERSONAL STORY that they add to every part of the lecture....... I swear it takes us 3 classes to get through what it should take 1 class!!! ......

OMG!! Is there one in EVERY CLASS??? I have one in my class too..however..the teacher is almost the SAME WAY!! He deviates from the topic at least once a class. He did it more at the beginning of the semester..he's a little better now..but the classmate..OMG!! And the worst part is he sits in the BACK of the class..and yells out!! Even interrupting the teacher!!:banghead:

I don't mind the texting..bc I text in class too (usually during the storytime!)..but the gumsmacking..talking among classmates..no..I don't even go to the teacher..I approach the classmate right then and there. I also paid for my class..in full..in cash..so I expect to learn..and anyone who is in the way of that..will hear my dissatisfaction!

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