Ashley Austin Page editorHave you ever sat in class on a Friday and listened to your instructor call the roll? If you have, I bet you may have noticed that more than a few of the names called received no response. The silence you hear during every third or so name is a result of several factors of college life: tiredness, laziness and eagerness.
College students are often so tired from partying Thursday night that they are too lazy to roll out of bed for class, and on top of it all, they are also eager to start their weekend a day early.
As a former student at the University of Texas at Austin, I am no stranger to skipping class. My first year of college, I thought it was OK to sleep late and start my weekend mid-day on Friday. I got notes from my friends, read my textbooks and showed up for class only four days a week most weeks. That was considered normal on such a large campus. What I didn’t realize then is that even when you’re not there, class still goes on. Assignments are still handed out, notes are still given and test dates are still announced.
Different instructors have different viewpoints when it comes to classroom attendance. For example, if a teacher offers students the opportunity to make up the work they miss when not in class, that gives the student an opportunity to take advantage of sleeping in when they feel like it, or to skip class to take a long lunch.
If the student doesn’t believe they will be punished for skipping class, they are more apt to do it. Posting lecture notes online is another way that instructors give the go- ahead for students to skip class. Students may not be getting the full effect of the lecture given in class, but if they have access to the notes, they are more likely to skip class and still feel that they will be able to complete an exam with a passing score.
At the college level, tests normally count for a major percentage of a student’s final average in a course. One way instructors discourage skipping class on Fridays is by giving tests that day of the week. In scheduling a test on a Friday, the instructor is ensuring that a higher percentage of students will attend class that day simply because the student does not want to fail the course by skipping a test.
Instructors are paid to teach us what they know. You are doing them a disservice if you skip class just to get a jump-start on your weekend.
I encourage you to give your instructors the benefit of a doubt and show up to class
every Friday. You will surely make their day and you might learn a few things in the process.
Now, as a Rangerette, I am required to attend all of my classes each day. Iíve learned
that in class, you learn more from your instructors that you ever could out of a textbook or by notes posted online.
I’ve come a long way from my days of relying on my friends to take notes for me and living for three-day weekends.
Ashley Austin is a sophomore communication major from Pasadena. She is writing a weekly column providing advice on how to have a successful college career.