I believe “Entitlement Generation” refers to people in their teens and twenties, not you 75 year old knitters.
d&r
How would you students feel if, in the middle of the lecture, the professor started munching on a bag of Doritos? If that seems inappropriate to you, then you have no business chowing down in the middle of class, either.
So you’re saying it’s ok to eat breakfast in church?
A lecturer is being paid to talk, not listen so it’s a different case. A lecturer who cannot teach his lesson he is being paid to teach cause He’s stuffing his mouth. Is a different situation. On the other hand I have had professors who ate in normal (<=30) classes. So grabbed a bite while we did quizes. Some ate while we discussed. One set up class with a 10 minutes break for group work so she would have a chance to eat each day. And yes there were doritos. It was no big deal.
Yeah, I did it many times when I used to go to church.
A friend of mine had an art GSI who didn’t even mind that. Supposedly there was a conversation in section (studio art) once that went like so:
(GSI) “So what you want to do here is… wait a minute, are you drinking a beer in my class?”
(guy in back, looking sheepish) “Uh… yeah, yeah I am.”
(GSI) “Cool. Next time you have to bring me one.”
I don’t have professors or GSIs like that (At least, not that I know of… to my knowledge nobody in any of my classes has tried it). Generally, the rule of thumb seems to be that it’s OK as long as it’s not messy, smelly, or noisy - so drink-bottles, lidded cups of coffee, most small candy, and so on are OK, but chips, burgers, sandwiches, and so on aren’t. It seems to work out OK - you can tap your blood-sugar or caffeine levels up if you need, and tide yourself over to the end of class, but nothing that would distract any reasonable person.
Most of my professors had a drink-water, pop, or coffee.
Hmm, last semester I actually had a class in the campus coffee shop. We had a class room to begin with, but early on the prof asked us if it was ok to move and we did. And that was one of my favorite class.
The only rule I’ve gotten concerning food is that it has to be healthy. It was part of my routine to bring a piece of fruit from the cafeteria (usually an orange) to all my morning classes.
Personally, I don’t find “food sounds/smells” distracting. That’s what allows me (and mant other students) to read and study
…during meal times in a crowded cafeteria.
Actually, in many university classes, students are also expected to talk. Class discussion is, in many subjects, a crucial part of the learning process. If all you did at university was listen to non-stop lectures, you probably had a pretty sub-standard educational experiience.
I agree with that (not with the alkie prof, of course), but students do need to understand that eating and drinking in class is not an entitlement.
“alkie prof?” That’s not jumping to a conclusion, that’s leaping headlong off a cliff to a conclusion.
And the only person calling eating during class an entitlement seems to be you.
I bring a travel mug of coffee with me to class in the mornings. In 3.5 years, I’ve never had a complaint from anyone about it.
Personally, I think that unless you’re trying to eat fettucine alfredo in class, it’s not a huge problem. Most people I see having a snack in class are doing their best to be quiet about it. Heck, in the past year, I’ve had two journalism professors say that because their classes are so long, it’s perfectly ok to leave during class and hit the vending machine for something. Guess I should tell them they’re being inconsiderate of their students.
I specifically differentiated between lectures and interactive smaller classes.
I’ve only ran into 3 profs who didn’t want eating or drinking in class. One was in my chem lab (for obvious reasons), one was a computer lab (I can see this one), and the other…well, I’m not sure why, but it was a mid-morning class, so I didn’t care. Water bottles were still allowed anyways.
As long as the people who are eating/drinking in class are doing it quietly and not interrupting the lecture, and it’s not in a classroom setting where eating or drinking can harm equipment or the consumer, I don’t see why it shouldn’t be allowed.
So much <3 for this prof. Most interesting history class I’ve ever taken, and I’m making sure to get him for the two I’m taking next semester.
Best part is, all former students have lifetime donut privileges. Muahaha!
I personally find it a little strange that some people feel eating in class rude. I can absolutely see that some types of eating in class are rude, but, in my opinion, there are many ways to eat in class that don’t distract from the lecture or anything like that.
Certainly a person eating in class may not always pay as much attention as they ought to, but I think people are capable of paying attention while eating. Furthermore, if they have any common sense they won’t eat for the entire class period so any distraction that does occur will be short lived.
As for others being distracted, it seems like if the food is eaten quietly and unobtrusively then most people will probably be able to ignore it. There may be people who are distracted by the idea that eating in class is inherently “rude”, but if they didn’t think this was rude then they wouldn’t be distracted.
I advocate students being respectful and sensible when contemplating eating in class. Only eat in classes where it is allowed and appropriate; consider whether the food you contemplate eating will somehow be distracting (i.e. smell strongly, make a lot of noise or a mess); eat as quietly and as quickly as possible; pay attention to the lecture.
If you follow these rules are careful to respect your fellow students and the professor I think you are not being rude at all. I feel the professor has the right to ban food in the classroom if he or she so chooses, in that case obviously you don’t eat in that class and you really ought not grumble about it.
One afternoon when I was in college, I was sitting under a tree in the main quad with some embroidery, when my favorite professor happened by. He expressed surprise that women of my generation still did such things, and we got talking. He told me that when he was teaching exclusively at the girls college attatched to our university back in the '50s, that he invited his students to bring their handcrafts to class. He said for some reason, discussion was better in a room full of flying knitting needles then folded hands.
With a direct invitation from the teacher, I spent the rest of the semester (in a 10 person, paper-based discussion seminar) with a quilt I was working on draped over my lap, sewing mostly by touch (freak that I am). I really enjoyed that class, and by the end of the semester another student began bringing knitting.
I’m not Christian, but I’ve been to Rosh Hashanah services where the congregation provided bagels and cream cheese halfway through the morning service. We all took a break, fixed bagels, chatted, and went back to the service. I also know they provided an afternoon snack, but I wasn’t there, so I don’t know what that was.
My point is, if the congregation provides refreshments, and they say that it’s okay to take them into the service, then it’s okay to eat in church.
I think the underlying point to this whole thread is that it’s okay to eat if the professor has no problems with it. The professor sets the tone of the class; if s/he says it’s okay to eat, it’s okay. If it’s not, it’s not. I haven’t noticed a lot of whining or sense of entitlement. Heck, I’d be okay with ENugent’s knitting if she weren’t that close to me.
Robin
Heavens no. It takes them six to eight bites to kill one tenth of the sandwich.
After the sandwich is fully killed, the consumption process is remarkably swift.
I don’t think I’ve seen people eat a full meal during classes, although they may bring their food with them to the classroom, and eat it before or after class.
I didn’t drink or snacked that much during undergrad because I have the luck to schedule it my way.
Now in vet school I’m at school from 8 until 6pm (I work 2 hours after classes end). The classroom is cold and the lectures for the most part are boring (I like the material, the delivery is not that good). Most people in my class bring some drink or snack to help them go through the day, myself included.
How is eating in class rude?
Well, its a matter of degrees. I don’t think having a bottle of water is rude - if you aren’t the type to spill it three times in the semester (and if so, get it in a sportbottle). Strolling into class five minutes late and setting out a three course meal is rude. Somewhere in between is a line. But:
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Crinkling paper and wrappers. Some profs are hard to hear and hard to follow. Any distracting noise can make it harder. And some wrappers are really noisy.
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If I’m hungry (because I grabbed a snack and will eat real food after class) and you show up with something I watch you eat or worse, smell. As people have pointed out, its distracting to be hungry in class…its even more distracting to be hungry and be reminded you are hungry. This is why its generally considered rude to eat in front of others anywhere.
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If you eat in such a way that shows general disrespect for the class and the teacher. Generally this isn’t just discreet eating of something quick and quiet and has other behavior associated with it. Its the sort of thing that comes with attitude and showing up late for class, distracting class and other students with whining about how unfair the homework assignment was or how much reading there is, etc. Or just disregarding a classroom rule.
If you eat without asking the teacher and/or the rest of the class if they mind, you’ve shown general disrespect for the teacher and the class. It’s not a huge deal, but it’s definitely one of the thousands of minor points of civility our society has lost.