Sit down, shut up and hang on

It's a common bumper sticker, but when I enter a classroom at the beginning of the semester, I try to use it as a motto. I will admit to being that irritating girl telling her friend a story before the class begins. But when the professor walks in, it's time to shut up. A sarcastic comment under my breath usually isn't uncommon, but it's infrequent. We have all encountered the chronic talker though. Whether it is the irritating click-click-click of fingers across a phone keyboard or against a computer keyboard, you know they aren't taking notes.

Or what's worse: the person who actually won't shut up the entire class period. They whisper -- or they don't, sometimes -- to their friend excitedly about a number of things ... all of which are completely unrelated to the class.

Now back in the days of high school, this rude individual would be asked to be quiet the first time and the next time would be taken out into the hallway. Which is exactly what should have happened.

For those of us actually concerned with our education, loose lips over the weekend is pretty trivial compared to anything else. No, I don't care how completely toasted you were last night. But I do care about my lesson. What's most puzzling for me isn't the fact that they seem to consider themselves above us measly booknerds. It's the seemingly obvious fact that they really don't care about the class they're sitting in. The very expensive class they're sitting in. Or what about disrupting the professor who is lecturing? For me, it's obvious he's giving you a withering glare. Just because it's his job to get up there and drone on about something admittedly boring does not mean that you can disrespect him by talking, texting or sleeping. Professors should take charge in the classroom. If a person won't shut their mouths when you ask them the first time, tell them to leave. It's pretty hard to focus on a lecture when chatty Kathy back there is telling her entire life story in excruciating detail.

The irritating noise of texting or instant messaging applies here, too. You know they aren't taking notes with their Blackberry, so tell them to put it away. I hate walking out of a class and hearing, "Do you understand what's going on? I don't." Well of course you don't. Maybe coming to class motivated to learn, taking notes instead of flapping your gums and focusing on the lesson would give you a little insight. I promise if you try it, you'll notice a difference. And another tip: show up on time. It's incredibly distracting to hear that door seal shut every 30 seconds after class has started. One of my Media Production professors told us the first day of this semester that if he shuts the door, then to not bother coming in late. I feel this is a great policy. I know it motivates me to get there on time every day. However, I do understand that sometimes you stumble upon that unbearable class. Either the professor is awful, the lecture material is boring or you're just not interested. Trust me, there are ways to get out of this type of situation. Drop the class if you don't need it. Find a way to spice up the material on your own time. And finally, fill out your Student of Instruction Survey. If your professor is just so bad, fill that thing out. Even if you "wasted" your semester, you will probably enjoy getting those biting criticisms off your chest. It boils down to this: do your work, shut up and let the rest of us learn. If you don't want to be here, that is just fine. Yes, we all pay tuition here and you can do whatever you want. But because we all pay tuition here, those of us who want to learn deserve to do so uninterrupted by the play-by-play of bar hopping last night.

This writer can be contacted at opinion@theeastcarolinian.com.