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The Sneaky Student

As a professor for decades now, I have been privilidged to not have had more than a handful of cases of cheating in my courses. This is due to several factors, I believe:

1. My courses do not typically lend themselves to cheating as I make significant efforts to keep my classes current and up-to-date. I also have ample material to talk about so that none of the courses is the same from semester to semester (anatomy & physiology, endocrinology, neurobiology).

2. My types of classes do not typically attract "slacker" types of students who may be more prone to cheat.

However, last week, an obnoxious, rude, and generally nasty student in my anatomy & physiology class (her initials are BAS, by the way) did something that shocked even me. Last week, as you may have read, was the midterm when I gave students in anatomy & physiology a laboratory practical examination. This particularly bratty and unbelievably disrespectful student sat in the back of my lecture last week with a copy of a previous year's exam and was chatting and talking and waving the exam around like it was a beacon.

This behavior struck me exceptionally badly, and as I meandered around the room, when I came upon her general vacinity, she tried to quietly hide the materials she was waving about and became as quiet as a mouse. However, I was rather too upset to let her behavior slide, and I simply reached onto the desk before her, and under the book she had laid atop of the materials and removed them.

I told her that if she wanted the materials back, that she would need to come and see me during my office hours.

This little, obnoxious witch has never shown up.

I just do not understand this student's mentality. All she wants is a damn grade. My courses are designed VERY carefully by me to guide students to become better, clearer, and deeper thinkers... because damn near all of them are going to go into a health related career (doctor, dentist, nurse, occupational therapist, physical therapist, etc), or an educator. The obnoxious student (again, who has the intials BAS), is attempting to become a nurse. Yet, her attitude suggests a person who would definetly be best outside of any decision making processes let alone those in health care.

Her boorish and stupid attitude appalled me.

* * * * *

Abbagirl74 suggested I write a bit more about campus again. Today was briskly cold, but in the L-shapped alcove near the enterance I used to get to my lab, there was nary a breeze so I could sit and relax and gaze out onto campus. As I indulged in my pipe (today, a spice textured cavendish I have blended with a powerful burley) during a break from working with the rodents, I was able to gaze out upon campus and see more of its natural glory. While many trees have lost there leaves, the snow we had several days ago eventually did melt and the few trees that retain their leaves at the moment (other that the deciduous of course that keep their leaves year round) are more vivid yellow and red that before. With a heavier jacket, it is still quite comfortable to sit out on the bench in the alcove for a spell.

PipeTobacco