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Opinion

Keep learning distraction-free 

Santiago Lopez
Opinion Columnist

Most students have seen a laid-back, happy-go-lucky professor snap at pupils when one too many leave and then return to class. It may be hard for the average college student to maintain his or her attention during a two-hour class or lab, and scaring the bejesus out of students is sometimes necessary to rectify an ill that takes place every day on this campus.

Classroom distractions greatly take a class's focus from learning to how soon the class will be over so cell phones may be checked for missed calls or text messages. Even an act as innocuous as stepping out to the water fountain to quench a long-standing thirst interferes with the learning process of the other students in the class. The creaking hinges of the door's opening and its subsequent closing are enough to drown out the important words flowing from a professor's mouth, which -- believe it or not -- some students actually attend class to hear.

The eventual return of the departed student breaks up of the professor's train of thought as he or she glances at the entering person. Then, when said instructor returns to the lesson plan, the pre-commotion thought may not match the post-distraction thought, and that can lead to an unplanned tongue-lashing of students.

Such a reprimand is necessary, though, when students feel the need to step away -- ever so briefly -- from the academic process in order to escape from the task at hand.

There are plenty of times to cool off from school; after all, students are able to plan their own schedules and can regulate their time spent in class on any given day. Even if a regular school day is wrought with back-to-back classes, students can unwind on the drive home by cranking up the radio, putting their feet up when they do get home or even taking an hour or two to vegetate in front of the television. There are also the weekends -- those two days in which students can study as little as they want and relax to the point of sheer boredom.

Upon setting foot on campus, students should be all business and dedicate themselves to learning within the guidelines set forth by the instructor -- no matter how strict or lax -- and do their best to make the most of the small amount of time allotted each day for teacher-guided learning.

If more instructors would care enough to lay down guidelines when they witness unwittingly rude behavior in class, fewer students will become habitual offenders in this realm and more students could absorb lectures without the need to ask a professor to repeat one or more points.

Lopez, a creative writing senior, 
can be reached via dccampus@mail.uh.edu