10TipsforProperClassroomEtiquette

　　Goodmannersandclassroometiquetteshouldbecommonsenseformoststudents.Beingcourteousandpolitewillpredisposeprofessorstolikeandrespectyou.

　　Asacollegeprofessor,Iamofteninvolvedindiscussionswithotherfacultyatcampusesalloverthecountryaboutthestrangehappeningsthatoccurintheclassroom--bystudentswhoseemunawareoroblivioustoproperclassroometiquette.

　　Whyshouldyoucareaboutclassroometiquette?Becauseprofessorstakenoteofthosestudentswhoareatbothendsofthespectrumandthenmakesubtle--ornotsosubtle--decisionsandadjustmentsthatcanaffectthesestudents'academicperformances.Professorslovestudentswhoarethoughtful,polite,andcourteous--whofollowgoodclassroometiquette.

　　Whatisetiquette?It'sacodeofconduct,amethodfordealingwithhowpeopleinteractwitheachother--basedonrespectandacceptednormsofbehavior.

　　1.ArrivetoClassonTime.

　　Therearealwaysgoingtobedayswhenapreviousprofessorkeepsyoulate,oryouwakeuplate,orittakesyoutoolongtofindaparkingspace,butthepointhereisdonotbehabituallylatetoclass.Regularlyarrivinglatetoclasssignalsalevelofdisrespect--whetheryoumeantosendthatsignalornot.Ifyouhaveproblemsgettingtoclassontime,findawaytosolvethem.Andonthoseraredayswhenyoudoarrivelate,remembertoentertheroomquietlyandnotmakeabigscene.

　　2.TurnOffYourCellPhone.

　　Unlessyouareexpectinganimportantcallortext,theproperthingtodoisturnyourcellphonecompletelyoffassoonasyouenterclass.Somestudentsswitchtovibratemode,butsometimesthismodecanbeworsethanaringtonebecauseoftheintensityofthevibration.CertainlyNEVERansweryourcellphoneinclass,nortext.Ifyourphonedoesring,makeaquickapologyasyousendthecalltovoicemail--andthensendaquickemailtoyourprofessorafterclassapologizingforyourgaffe.

　　3.DoNotBringFoodorDrinktoClass.

　　Inmanyclassroombuildings,foodisnotevenallowed,soyou'renotonlydisplayingpooretiquette,butactuallybreakingarule.Maketimeoutsideofclasstohaveamealorasnack--notinclass.Manyprofessorsdotoleratedrinks,suchaswaters,coffees,sodas--butmakecertainoftheprofessor'spolicybeforebringingyourdrinktoclass.

　　4.ContributetotheClassDiscussionWhenAppropriate.

　　Justaboutallprofessorsappreciateastrongdialogueintheclassroom,butnotwhenthecommentsareunwantedorinappropriate.Dorespondwhentheprofessorseeksinputorasksforquestionsordiscussion.Don'tinterrupttheprofessororanotherstudent,anddon'tdominatethediscussion--letotherpeoplehaveachancetotalk/contributetothedialogue.

　　5.AvoidSideConversations.

　　Oneofthebiggestpetpeevesofprofessorsandstudentsalikeiswhenafewstudentshavea鈥減rivate鈥conversationloudlyenoughthatit'sdistractingtothemaindiscussionintheclassroom.Ifyouhavebignewstosharewithyourfriends,dosobeforeorafterclass--butrefrainfromdoingsoduringclass.Besidesbeingmorerespectfultothestudentsandprofessor,you'llactuallylearnmoreinformationbybeingactivelyinvolvedintheclassratherthaninyourownsideconversation.

　　6.AddressingtheProfessorProperly.

　　Manyfull-timeuniversityfacul