We must embrace who we really are, each and every one of us.
We are silent, we are talkers, we are sleepers, we are brown-nosers, we are numb-dumbers, we are nerds, we are outcasts and, well, I guess it all depends, especially which class we're in.
So, I thought, much like everyone else thinks once they hit higher academia, "college is so not like high school."
Oops. So we we're all wrong, especially when we hit the classroom. Gaze around the classroom and you'll notice that those stereotypes have followed in our footsteps.
There will always be the student that talks way too much. He raises his hand during every question, makes sure he gets his every word in and probably has a problem passing gas -- reason being why he must vocalize constantly.
Sometimes those constant talkers just feel like they need to say something, even if it has nothing to do with the conversation at hand. They, too, must be in severe need of Bean-o. Either way, it gives students in the classroom time to either catch up on the reading they didn't do.
While there are those who talk too much, there are also those students that hide their genius. These are the students we wish would talk. They are the smarties that have all the answers.
During one of my English classes my sophomore year, the professor was handing back papers we had turned in eons before (you know how grading goes -- I had a professor tell us the other day in German that we didn't get our tests back because he had to go to a party. Why can't we use that excuse?). One of the students receiving papers, a student that was mostly quiet during class -- although quite intelligent -- was pointed out by the professor once his paper was handed to him.
"You're a genius," she proclaimed. "After that fabulous work you did on that paper, I know how intelligent you really are. I'm going to make sure you talk in class."
And after that, she continuously called him class after class. He obviously wasn't comfortable -- you know, the strong, silent type -- I'm sure girls swooned over him.
"He's just so mysterious."
And while the talkers are doing the incessant talking, and the quiet ones are trying to dodge any eye contact with the professor, there's my type of student: the sleeper.
I'm the student that makes everyone angry. I doze off in the middle of class and when the professor calls on me I answer the question -- quick, smart and drowsy, I might add -- and then doze off again.
"How do you do that?" my classmates ask.
"Medication," I say.
It's not like I don't do the homework -- sheesh.
There are the students that enjoy every minute of class and there are the students that look familiar, as if they've been in that class before and you just can't place it (they usually drop six weeks into the semester, "It's just too hard"). There are students that take 50 pages of notes each class (that's me again) and there are students that can just take it all in by listening.
Either way, a student is a student and if they're the non-traditional type in my class or the freshman you get stuck with in the University Core classes -- nothing will ever change, we all fit at least one of the stereotypes.
Which one are you?
Write to Evan at emann@mr-potatohead.com
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