College is funny, part II

I love this more than bagels and garden vegetable cream cheese:

That moment in a classroom when everyone... everyone is prepared, and there's one person in the back who has no clue what's going on. What happened? The professor sent out an email yesterday afternoon with a reminder or a request to print something out or bring it to class, read an extra few pages of the literature, or do a worksheet.

And what's the excuse? It's always in that deliciously self-righteous tone: "Well... I don't check my email every day. Sorry."

That's like working in an office and never answering your phone or checking your emails. It's part of the job, and you have to do it. You have to make it a habit. Students today who don't check their email... I don't understand it. We're plugged constantly into every other type of technology--texting in class, surfing facebook in class (AKA "taking notes"), talking on the phone between classes... so why is it so hard to check your email a few times a day?

I know I'm kind of a smartass... but really, it boggles the mind.

I also wonder about professors. After they earn the title "doctor," does some kind of fluid release in the body that sends a very specific signal to the brain? The signal is "It's ok to wear a beret now" and about 75% of them seem to heed it, even in the summer. I'm not complaining. They all look rather dashing in their long philosopher beards and their muffiny hats.