Typical day in the life of a college student:
Wake up, maybe on time, but probably not.
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Shower, maybe for the first time in 3 (to 7) days, but maybe just skip the shower again.
Drive to school, maybe at the speed limit, but who are we kidding?
Get to class, maybe late for this too, and probably not in a spot to see and/or hear well.
Because of the poor location and late arrival, text during class, or maybe just browse the web for a solid 30 ticks around the ticker.
Maybe throw in a glance here and there towards the front where the professor is now on white board number 3 and powerpoint slide number 17.
Probably look back at the phone instead of trying to comprehend what is going on on those dang white boards.
Bell rings, leave class, grab a coffee, talk with a friend.
Repeat distracted, unaware experience from the prior lecture in most of the lectures to follow.
Maybe find a lecture that is more intriguing, maybe throw some notes down in the ole' comp notebook... probably not though.
Maybe start up some homework, probably run into confusion with the class for which attention was not really given, and maybe even get frustrated about how long the homework is taking.
We all know what comes next y'all:
Definitely complain about the professor. Definitely jump first to the fault of the teacher for this building frustration.
Not maybe read the book for understanding, not probably take responsibility for not listening during lecture, not maybe plan to use lecture as a tool next time. But definitely misplace the blame onto the someone else who spent an hour of their day investing in a room full of students, of whom 75% did not feel the need to pay attention.
Raising my hand, guilty as charged.
Wow y'all... this realization hit me like a pile of bricks falling from above directly onto my ungrateful little circumstances this week.
It is the first week back, and this is the best time that us college students have to set the pace for the semester ahead of us. I walked into this 'first week bliss' with a real intention to set that pace well, and gosh am I glad that was the case.
Honestly, I am not sure if what I heard on the first day has been a thing every semester so far or if it is new, but two of my professors talked very purposefully about our lack of attention. Specifically, about how a lack of attention due to phone distractions, sleeping, chatting, etc. would lead to little or no credit for participation and/or attendance for the day.
It would not surprise me at all if this is nothing new and I just never truly listened (how ironic, Britt), but for some reason that really stood out to me this go around.
Is this real that these teachers, who spend every day prepping to teach us in the best way they know how, are having to practically beg us to simply remain attentive? To simply a) use the muscles that God graced upon our necks, b) tuck the silenced phone away into our bags, c) lift our teeny eyelids ever so slightly, and d) listen. That is all they ask of us, yet most often our unspoken response is "ummm, nah, probably not feelin' that today."
I am just imagining myself standing up in front of a class of young adults to give a presentation. I have put time, effort, and practice into what I feel is worth being heard by these students in front of me. With so much invested in it, heck yeah I want to look out on a crowd of people just as stoked and eager to hear what I have to share as I am stoked and eager to share it. Imagine the disappointment when the only feedback I get from the audience in that hopeful moment is a wall of tops-of-kids-heads mixed with a handful of kids drifting off to sleep and the few (the rare) who are listening as I had imagined the whole room would be.
That is what we give our profs each time we disrespect their time in front of us. Those drooping eyelids and heads tilted towards a phone screen are the less than desirable sight we leave our professors with when we choose our own entertainment and immediate satisfaction over respect for our superiors and the education they are trying to spoon feed us.
Wow. I know I am pretty unimpressed with myself, knowing how true is it that I have been that spaced-out-distracted-on-the-phone student on more than one occasion.
I don't think students, myself included, act this way with a malicious awareness of the disrespect that our actions truly carry. However, I do think ignorance is so very far from bliss when it comes to how we are treating our professors.
Bottom line: these professors are still people. When I am not feeling perky, positive, and psyched on school, I am trying to remind myself that these professors are human. All of our professors: good, great, and less than that, are all flawed and in need of grace just like ourselves. They do not walk around the halls gossiping about how stupidly we sounded while talking with them in office hours. We should not walk around the halls gossiping about how uninteresting and dry we think they sounded while lecturing in class. Professors still feel real feelings and can understand when a room of students does not care in the slightest about the lesson they have prepared. They get it, just as you and I would get it if a room of people in front of us could care less.
We are called to respect our authorities, and should be confident that they are in that position because they are deserving of it (Romans 13:1-5). So the next time that we get to decide how a lecture will pan out, maybe it wouldn't be so hard to all try and be a little more attentive, show a little more interest, and treat our professors with the respect they have very rightfully earned.
My intention in writing this is to call out the best in all of us, myself included. We can always work towards being better, and this is such an awesome change that will help us learn more successfully while also letting teachers teach more successfully.
Prayers and continued best wishes for this semester, y'all!
