Seton Hill professor Mike Arnzen puts his texting policy in the course syllabus: If students place his class in the background by texting, he marks them as absent.
“Because they’re not attending,” explained Arnzen, 42, chair of the school’s division of humanities.
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January 18th, 2010 at 1:29PM
I had a friend in the UVA engineering school back in the early 70’s. He got A’s on all the work, and an F on the course. When he went into the Prof’s office to clear up the mistake, he was told “I take attendance, and anyone with hair like yours is absent”.
This is the same petty bullshit, it’s a new age people.
January 18th, 2010 at 2:01PM
Wow, this is an uber-strict policy, and I even have a texting, IPod, and laptop ban.
I have wonder how his students react to it, either on their evaluations or in class.
January 18th, 2010 at 2:47PM
I have a similar policy listed on my syllabus. I explain the importance of attending class and participating fully followed by a bullet point definition of attendance (electronics away, homework completed, active participation, etc.).
I know that I cannot back this up, but including this list in the syllabus and stressing it throughout the course have helped prevent serious problems of this nature.
Dave Crosby, you’ve just made a false comparison. Hair has no bearing on learning. Texting during class, however, negatively impacts student learning, especially in small, discussion based courses.
January 18th, 2010 at 2:56PM
I remember playing with my hair in college, but I didn’t carry on conversations with it during class.
January 18th, 2010 at 3:22PM
The hair thing and the texting thing seem like two different situations to me. Expecting a student to pay close attention is within the legitimate authority of the professor, whether or not such a strict policy is really wise; trying to control a student’s personal hairstyle is not within the professor’s legitimate authority.
OT…UD, I just sent you an e-mail, which I mention because spam filters seem to be getting increasingly hungry.
January 19th, 2010 at 7:58AM
I like it!
I’m an art historian, so I mainly work in the dark. I remind students on the first day that if a soft glow peeps out from under their desks I know what’s going on.
January 19th, 2010 at 1:48PM
I dunno. I hope it works for Prof Arnsen: I am thinking of giving up on attendance, texting policies, laptop policies, etc. I think I might just give them a midterm and a final, just to see what happens. Also, it would be less work for me. I wouldn’t have to get bent out of shape when somebody’s is screwing around on-line or texting.
Maybe its not that important. I remember my mom talking about a Shakespeare class she took in the 1960s. It was an overheated lecture hall where everyone fell asleep as soon as the guy with the tweed jacket and the pipe started lecturing.
Most students’ grades are already determined by their midterm or first paper. And they generally do well if they pay attention in class and do the reading. What more is there that we should ask for?
January 19th, 2010 at 4:05PM
Regarding the first comment, I guess David Crosby’s friend was letting his freak flag fly.