Your first
hours in a college classroom can be intimidating. Better yet, they’re just
plain different from high school. It’s not so much the people, but the style of
teaching—the atmosphere in general. In most cases, it’s relaxed and dependent
upon the actions of the students. Although the professor dictates how the
material is presented, you, the student, dictate how painless (or painful) the
classroom environment tends to be. As with most things in life, there are a few unwritten rules of college classroom etiquette.
- You don’t have to answer every question. The professor will give up on waiting for someone to raise his or her hand and eventually tell you the answer.
- You don’t have to know the answer to every test question. Don’t worry, chances are you'll still pass.
- Turn your phone off in class. We can all still hear it when it’s on vibrate.
- In an early morning class, please don’t scream about how awesome your night was at the top of your lungs.
- Actually, please never do that, no matter the time of day.
- Don’t diminish someone’s course load. Chances are, they’re doing their best.
- Don’t ask or compare scores on a test. We know you did better than us.
- Try not to skip every class and then ask your neighbor for notes.
- If it’s a group project, please put in the effort. Not helping isn’t as “cool” as it apparently was in high school.
- Unless it’s a major error, don’t correct the professor. We all know how the word “revolution” is supposed to be spelled. Chalkboard typos happen too.
In the words of the infamous Countess LuAnn de Lesseps, “Be cool. Don’t be all like uncool.”