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St. Cloud State University
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Commentary
Immaturity still taints our classes
Published:
Thursday, October 2, 2003
In the world of clich�s, this one is one of the most popularly quoted: "Kids can be cruel." Unfortunately, this also holds true for university students as well.
Despite all the courses taught at this campus to deter prejudice and promote acceptance of other cultures, some students still aren't understanding. There are a lot of professors at SCSU that are not native to this country and many have strong accents. However, the manner in which some students handle this situation is unacceptable.
Some members of the editorial board have been privy to the antics of a few of these students and were ashamed by the behavior of their fellow classmates. When did it become admissible to openly and loudly exclaim as though the professor was not standing there, "I don't know what you are saying" or "This is ridiculous, I can't understand him."
It all boils down to common courtesy and manners.
After verbally demeaning the professor, some students go so far as to take advantage of the situation. "Sure, we take tests in pairs," and "none of the other classes have to do that" were a few comments made. Have we reverted back to being sixth-graders with a substitute teacher, when all we can think about is how to screw the professor over and make life easier for ourselves?
Perhaps you should put yourself in the professor's shoes. How difficult would it be for you to go to another country, learn the language, only to be harassed by students when you are just trying to help them learn? It would be incredibly frustrating and disheartening at the same time. Even throwing out the language factor, if you began a new position, it would be a lot more difficult to learn your responsibilities and the procedures of the company if all of your coworkers or customers were rude to you and talked about you in front of your face.
It is time for a little compassion. It is obviously difficult to understand a subject when you are taught by a professor that is having difficulty communicating, but instead of complaining, help. Go to the professor's office and speak with him or her, encouraging the use of the language. Practice does make perfect. They will appreciate it and it will make you feel warm and fuzzy inside. It is an opportunity to help rather than sit by and complain about how horrible it is.
If you are unwilling to help, at least be courteous. If you don't understand, try to find a tutor, talk to the professor or get help from your friends. But constantly talking over the professor about how awful he or she is, or conniving a way to do "buddy testing" will not get anyone anywhere. It will only make a difficult situation all that much harder.
We are adults now; let's act like it.
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