It’s five minutes until the end of the lecture. The buzz of backpack zippers amidst the rustle of notebook pages gradually increases as the professor struggles to eke out a few summarizing points over the commotion while a few students dismiss themselves from the class. Almost any student who has attended a medium- to large-sized lecture has witnessed this phenomenon before.
This is but one of several symptoms of an increasingly relaxed academic culture that affects universities nationwide. This trend is by no means new. While students pursuing higher education have been described with all the faults attributed to youth and adolescence for centuries, this concern has only worsened over the past half-century with the advent of an increasing college-bound population and even more recently the proliferation of mobile media access.
Explanations for the perceived decline in classroom etiquette vary. The traditional explanation tends to link the current disregard for classroom manners, particularly in regard to the way students value their and others’ time, with a general decline in manners and etiquette across society. However, this argument tends to rely too heavily on observational or anecdotal evidence. A few others have tried to explain the phenomenon in a more academic manner. In an article published by the American Sociological Foundation, Robert E. Emerick claims the decline in classroom etiquette stems from the increasing number of individuals being offered an education as well as the relative age of incoming students. According to Emerick, as the human lifespan increases so do its different stages, especially adolescence. This effectively makes incoming college students relatively younger and further behind on the path to adulthood than the 18-year-olds of the generation before them.
While some may complain these claims come from members of an older generation whose observations are tainted with golden-age thinking, studies have found students also perceive a decline in classroom etiquette. In a study conducted to gauge how students perceive classroom incivility, Wendy Bjorkland and Diana L. Rehling at St. Cloud State University found that most students encounter “a fair amount of at least moderately uncivil behavior.” Even though the survey was limited to 3,616 students at a midwestern public university, the study brings up further recognition of declining classroom etiquette this time from students themselves. While all of these explanations arrive at different conclusions, they speak to the growing issue of declining behavioral standards for the classroom.
Dr. Lou Bloomfield has been teaching his introductory physics course “How Things Work” at the University since 1991. Over the course of his time teaching, Dr. Bloomfield has noted changes in student behavior. Bloomfield cited an enormous increase in distractions available in the classroom with the common usage of electronics in class. He also pointed to students’ decreasing willingness to interact with their professors whether for classroom demonstrations or even to attend office hours.
When asked when he started noticing these changes he said it has been a gradual change over the last 10 years: “It’s not a coincidence that it’s timed with the advent of social media,” Bloomfield said. “Students no longer want to meet face to face. They would rather send an email from a comfortable distance.”
From a professor’s standpoint, Bloomfield claims the biggest distraction in the classroom is the increasing pressure to end class early. “I feel like I’ve kept students over if I teach for the whole 50 minutes,” he said. “It seems that students come late, try not to be present when they’re here and want to leave early.The truth is people are happy with less. They want a college degree but not a college education.”
Whatever the cause may be, it is important that we reject this type of behavior as a social or educational norm. The University offers one of the most envied educations in the country and treating it with any less than the utmost respect certainly doesn’t send a positive message about how students value their time at the University. Fortunately, students have the most influence to ensure that this culture is not representative of the student body at the University. Waiting until the end of lecture to pack up belongings is just one way to help cultivate a culture of respect in the classroom. Paying attention during lecture and refraining from the misuse of technology are yet another way to respect not only the professor but also fellow students. While it is certainly possible to lay out a list of rules for behavior in the classroom, etiquette and manners change with society over time. Our interactions with classmates and professors should ultimately be guided by respect and courtesy.
The community at the University fundamentally stems from the classroom. Whether it’s the professor who came here to educate or the students who came here to learn, the community is made possible by the common goal of either seeking or providing higher education. Facilitating a community that genuinely respects and values others must inevitably start with how we choose to treat our neighbors in the classroom.
Jake Olson is a Viewpoint writer.
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