Vent! Inconsiderate None NS Students!

MB37 · May 15, 2008

Inconsiderate students are everywhere, I promise. I got my first degree at an extremely expensive, well-respected private university, and although cell phones weren't as common then, there were horrifically rude rich kids in all my classes too. There were in my prereqs at two different public universities, and there are in my accelerated BSN program. I keep hoping they'll fail out, or at the very least not get hired by the hospital I want to work at. Just saying it makes no difference what someone's background is, that's all.

cardiacRN2006, ADN, RN · May 15, 2008

Our college also participates in a welfare program with the state. The program is after so long, you either work or go to school, or you get no money for welfare. Soooo you can imagine what kind of people this school pulls in.

Umm, people trying to better thier life?

Perhaps some of your students are disrespectful (and this is the case at every college everywhere). I doubt it has anything to do with your welfare program.

obicurn · May 16, 2008

Actually around here, it is work and get no welfare or very little at all....or go to school and still get cash in your pocket plus get your school paid for and rent paid for and food stamps, free child care and the works.

I guess the point is to push people towards an education. That part of it works I guess.....but the sad fact is the majority of the people in my area that are on these programs were raised in really horrible conditions with no parental involvement and it shows in their behavior and general lack of respect for themselves and others.

It is rare that you find people in the system that really -want- to better their lives. And those few are stuck with being treated like less than people because they are in that "welfare" group along with the others that really could care less.

Being in college doesn't always equal attempting to make your life better. For some, it is nothing more than a means to prolong actually having to get off their butts and do something for themselves instead of standing there with their hand out.

locolorenzo22, BSN, RN · May 16, 2008

yeah...you think adults could be expected to behave.....

Last semester, we had a instructor who had left come back to teach her specialty(cardiac)...two weeks only.....

Some guys in the back of the room were throwing spitballs, gossiping, etc....like freakin freshmen in high school!

Gave the rest of us guys a bad name...and I'm talking late 20 year olds....

pinkiepie_RN · May 16, 2008

What bothers me more than these inconsiderate students, are the professors who pretend like there is nothing they can do about it. How about tell the whole class that cell-phones must be turned off, if the phone rings during class the student needs to pack up their stuff and leave the room to answer it (and not come back), they will then be considered absent from the class for the entire period. As for getting up and leaving in the middle of the lecture to go to the bathroom (whatever!), it is an adult class. Anyone who cannot hold their bodily functions for a couple of hours needs a medical excuse. If the lecture has started by the time you arrive in the morning, don't bother coming in, you will be turned around. I'm sorry, but people pay good money for these classes and their rights should be paramount over these inconsiderate loafers.
If the prof gets tough like this, then the people causing the disturbance will pretty soon realize that their meal-ticket will be cut off unless they shape up - presumably if they don't show up they don't get paid!

I didn't realize that professors or my peers had issues with getting up and going to the bathroom. It's not like high school where you have to get a hall pass. I think we're all grown ups and there's nothing wrong with getting up to go to the bathroom or even stretch your legs for a minute. I know if I have something to drink in the morning I may have to go to the bathroom sometime during class. Sure I could probably hold it but boy is it uncomfortable and awkward when the bathroom is right down the hall and within my reach. Some students may have an emergency going on where they need to have their cell phone on, like a sick child or something like that. I know being chronically late is an issue but it is possible to be late for reasons beyond one's control, such as traffic or over-sleeping. As long as someone is quiet when entering late or leaving temporarily, it shouldn't be an issue to you. I understand where you're coming from but this doesn't necessarily sound inconsiderate to me.

Fiona59 · May 16, 2008

But the point is people managed to live without cell phones for hundreds of years. Nobody is that important that they need to be attached to a phone 24/7.

I made it through nursing classes with kids, a husband serving overseas, and my father dying. The programme office took messages and relayed them to students.

Progress isn't always for the best.

allnurses Guide · May 16, 2008

I didn't realize that professors or my peers had issues with getting up and going to the bathroom. It's not like high school where you have to get a hall pass. ..... I understand where you're coming from but this doesn't necessarily sound inconsiderate to me.

The occasional student slipping out to use the bathroom is a far cry from constant upping and downing by multiple students. When I look through your post, all of the rationales for disrupting class are centered on the "me factor". What people are saying is that these behaviors have an impact on everyone in the class, and that impact should be taken into account as well as one's personal needs/wants. The OP is describing a dysfunctional classroom that does not set up a good learning environment; and does sound very inconsiderate to me. Just MHO.

KarmaInMotion · May 16, 2008

But the point is people managed to live without cell phones for hundreds of years. Nobody is that important that they need to be attached to a phone 24/7.
I made it through nursing classes with kids, a husband serving overseas, and my father dying. The programme office took messages and relayed them to students.
Progress isn't always for the best.

Boy you said it perfectly. And I don't just agree about this particular aspect of "progress" either. Anyway, as for this instance, I just now got a cell phone for going into the ADN program. When I was working on my prereqs, I used the payphone if I had to. But then they went and pulled those out. I do find it facinating how people are so self absorbed with their cell phones. Even if there is an emergency, it's not like there are no other family members, close friends, or public emergency assistance available. I have 2 kids and a husband with a terminal disease. You bet I worry like the rest of the world, but even with immediate notification, what more can that really do? Doctors, nurses and paramedics will still do their jobs if someone's life depends on it.

I've only been at a CC, and I have experienced the highest quality of professors as of yet, and they set their expectations straight at the begining of classes. It is a diverse population with a good portion, including myself, only being able to go because of govt./financila aid. With the policies set, the profs still treated us like adults, and a majority of us returned the respect. I feel with this sort of outline of policies set helps benifit both students and professors.

Bodily funtions are just that. Disruptive class atmospheres should not be tollerated though. Anytime there were a few people that didn't understand the concept of continued education, those few would eventually dissapear. If there is such a great issue with obnoxious disruptions of the class and the learning environment, I would ask of the prof to set up a policy to address the issues. Maybe he/she is new to the diversity of maturity levels possible in an a CC environment (?). If the prof is unable to do that, go the head of the department to see if they can help set some sort of policy(s). The point is, regardless of from who (you or financial aid), classes have been paid for you to attend class in an educational institutional environment, not some anarchistic social orgy. So I can understand your frustration. I wish you the best.

airchild17 · May 16, 2008

Actually, I attend a community college in CT and while there are some interruptions, people do occasionally just need to use the bathroom or inform the professor that they have a sick kid at home and need to leave cell on vibrate, overall I find that the community college students are more likely to be older returning student who really want to be there or younger people paying their own way through school and honestly taking it much more seriously than I did when I was young and went to a university on my parent's dime. The few who are testing sit in the back of the room and since texting is silent it really doesn't bother anyone.

obicurn · May 16, 2008

I don't understand why people text or talk through a lecture. Why even bother going, ya know? I had to keep my phone on vibrate last semester when my son was sick and had to have surgery. If it rang though, I would take it out in the hall. I've actually seen people answer their phone right in the middle of lecture and carry on a conversation in the classroom. Baffling.

airchild17 · May 16, 2008

I absolutely agree that talking on the cell while in lecture is absolutely inexcusable! I have not actually seen that in my classes, including pre-req. Texting silently I don't understand unless it is r/t work, sick child, etc and brief, but at least it doesn't need to affect anyone else. I'm just saying I'm surprised that you have so many inconsiderate students in the community college because my experience has been the opposite in which I see much less immature/inconsiderate behavior at the community college than at the university I went to way back when. But then again I hear that before the nursing program started this school was mostly utilized by employees of Pfizer, EB, and other local companies trying to expand their job marketability now add in the nursing and pre-nursing students (there is stiff competition for the program here because of lower tuition and high NCLEX pass rates) so the majority of students are really motivated and those who aren't get "shooshed" by the other students.

obicurn · May 16, 2008

I think this is part of the reasons Nursing schools do so much cleaning house and weeding out. You can tell pretty quickly who is serious about getting into this profession and who is just there because it's somewhere to be.