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A Class That Never Should Have Gotten Out of Hand

By Jeuron Dove
Black College Wire

Credit: Alexis Mason/A&T Register Jeuron Dove

Boy, was I wrong. That day, I got all the action I needed to last the rest of this semester and then some.

The action occurred in the place I felt it would be the least likely—the classroom.

The problem started a couple of weeks ago, when our teacher gave us a group assignment that the class had about a week and a half to complete. On the day it was due, many of the students did not show up on time because they were finishing their assignments at the last minute. When the professor arrived and found only a handful of students, he promptly canceled class and left.

On the next class day, many students noticed a change in the professor's attitude. For one thing, he started giving daily quizzes, something he did not inform students he would do. That made the already-upset class angrier.

But the breaking point occurred that Monday, when the class just about went to hell and back.

We started with a quiz, as usual, but something caught me by surprise as class proceeded. I noticed that a lot of students were going up to the professor to talk about grades.

At that exact moment, a friend in the class sent me a text message asking what my grade was. Last I knew, I had an A average. To my surprise, it had dropped three letters.

I came to find out that the majority of the students in our class had received less than impressive midterm grades.

After we turned in our quiz, the free-for-all began.

The professor complained that he had to start giving us daily quizzes because he felt the students had become too lazy, and treated the class only as an easy elective.

Of course, that statement angered many of the students, and only added more fuel to the fire.

The professor then accused the majority of the class of acting like high school students, and admitted that it had become a job for him to come to the class.

By this point, students were making any and all excuses to justify their behavior and performance. The next few minutes were one big blur. To be blunt, there was a lot of cursing, a lot of yelling and a lot of things spoken that should never be said in a classroom setting.

The professor started telling the class that we needed to get on our stuff, and before anyone knew it, two females started to argue over the points the teacher was making. It got so bad that the teacher and other students had to verbally calm the two down before any real violence ensued. Our teacher finally dismissed the class, but not before making a few more controversial statements.

You might be asking, what is the point of this story? Is it to make the professor look bad?

No. If I wanted him to look bad, I could easily have mentioned his name, but I have way too much respect for him to do that. This is not being written to vent any frustrations. I am not one of the students he was addressing.

I come to class every day and do my work and am always attentive, and I am not the only one. For every student who misbehaves and acts like a disrespectful jerk, just as many show up and do what they are supposed to do.

This is to remind the professor that even though what he did might have seemed a bit (OK, a lot) unprofessional, he had every right to say how he felt. If he wants to give us a quiz every day for the rest of the semester, then so be it.

At the end of the day, it is his class and he has the right to do what he wants.

Students need to remember that even though we are in college, there are still basic rules we must abide by. If a teacher is giving a lecture or addressing the class in general, then students should not be talking, period. If you have a question, then raise your hand. If there is something you do not agree with, take it up with the teacher after class, in a civilized manner.

I regret that any of the events ever transpired.

Things should never have gotten to the point where a respected professor, especially one who holds a Ph.D., had to react in that manner.

At the same time, it is a shame that the majority of the students who were showing disrespect will probably come back having not learned anything from their actions. And that is the real shame of what went on that memorable day.

Jeuron Dove, a student at North Carolina A&T State University, writes for the A&T Register.

Posted Nov. 1, 2006