There's No Such Thing as a Bad Question
Maybe they just use class time to get in their daily exercise. I'm no dietitian, but I surmise that shooting an arm up into the air at 100 MPH 34 times a lecture is equivalent, in calories burned, to running a couple miles, at least. Unfortunately, calories are not all that is lost by these keen, daring students.
With every miserably useless comment they make, they are also shedding a layer of their dignity. Their comments have no educational value, let alone any value at all. They are unnecessary, unwelcome, and undeniably unbearable. Now far be it for me to harangue the overly zealous participator, which is why I am not.
These students are local heroes. They make themselves known wherever they go, be it Calculus (But why exactly is that used as the integral sign?), Economics (I read today in the Economist that...), Linguistics (I actually have an extensive knowledge of ancient Greek in which the rule for nouns is that...), or Literature (I've actually read every single book ever written by humankind and...). It takes a daring young student to volunteer preconceived knowledge to the class and I most certainly am not slaying his participation. I'm slaying his motivations and intentions, which are anything but righteous. And let's be honest, their "comments" are anything but participation. They are arguments or worse, unfounded statements.
I'll be the first to admit that these participators used to scare the shit out of me. Their arms shooting into the air was coordinated with the trembling of my knees and quivering of my hands.
Honestly, these students do not contribute any gems to the class discussion. Most of the time they are attempting to discuss what is not up for discussion in the first place. They are insecure and threatened by the silent types and overcompensate with utterly useless remarks. Their sense of inferiority takes a malevolent turn when their arm shooting into the air becomes symbolic of their punching you in the stomach or slapping you across the face. They want to come across as threatening to other students (and the "curve").
Why do they feel it necessary to argue with your professor about research that he has quite clearly spent twice your lifespan studying? Worse off, why do they continue past the moment when class should be dismissed? Now my arm is shooting up into the air at 100 MPH. And guess what? It's not coming down.
With every miserably useless comment they make, they are also shedding a layer of their dignity. Their comments have no educational value, let alone any value at all. They are unnecessary, unwelcome, and undeniably unbearable. Now far be it for me to harangue the overly zealous participator, which is why I am not.
These students are local heroes. They make themselves known wherever they go, be it Calculus (But why exactly is that used as the integral sign?), Economics (I read today in the Economist that...), Linguistics (I actually have an extensive knowledge of ancient Greek in which the rule for nouns is that...), or Literature (I've actually read every single book ever written by humankind and...). It takes a daring young student to volunteer preconceived knowledge to the class and I most certainly am not slaying his participation. I'm slaying his motivations and intentions, which are anything but righteous. And let's be honest, their "comments" are anything but participation. They are arguments or worse, unfounded statements.
I'll be the first to admit that these participators used to scare the shit out of me. Their arms shooting into the air was coordinated with the trembling of my knees and quivering of my hands.
Honestly, these students do not contribute any gems to the class discussion. Most of the time they are attempting to discuss what is not up for discussion in the first place. They are insecure and threatened by the silent types and overcompensate with utterly useless remarks. Their sense of inferiority takes a malevolent turn when their arm shooting into the air becomes symbolic of their punching you in the stomach or slapping you across the face. They want to come across as threatening to other students (and the "curve").
Why do they feel it necessary to argue with your professor about research that he has quite clearly spent twice your lifespan studying? Worse off, why do they continue past the moment when class should be dismissed? Now my arm is shooting up into the air at 100 MPH. And guess what? It's not coming down.
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