Wednesday, April 28, 2004
Applause, please
There's a weird thing that happens at Harvard Law School. On the last day of class for every course, the teacher stops teaching, says a few words about the exam, thanks the class for being wonderful, and wishes us good luck in the future. After the professor's last final-sounding statement, the entire class breaks into applause. While we continue clapping, the professor smiles and briskly strides from the room in a very dramatic exit.
I am baffled by this practice. Is the professor a performer? If so, why don't we clap at the end of each class period? We clap at the end of the various acts of a multi-act play. Are we just expressing our appreciation to the professor for a great class? If so, why do we do it across the board--even for crappy professors of boring classes? Why the dramatic exit? There could be times when a student needs to ask the professor a question immediately after the final class period. Does the school explicitly instruct professors in how to make a final statement to the class that will elicit applause, and how to sweep out of the room? I really don't remember clapping for any professor at BYU, and I would be interested to know if other schools do this too. It's just too weird.
At least I'm no longer in any first-year classes, where we felt obligated to pitch in and buy the professor a gift. Even the crappy ones. THAT was weird.
I am baffled by this practice. Is the professor a performer? If so, why don't we clap at the end of each class period? We clap at the end of the various acts of a multi-act play. Are we just expressing our appreciation to the professor for a great class? If so, why do we do it across the board--even for crappy professors of boring classes? Why the dramatic exit? There could be times when a student needs to ask the professor a question immediately after the final class period. Does the school explicitly instruct professors in how to make a final statement to the class that will elicit applause, and how to sweep out of the room? I really don't remember clapping for any professor at BYU, and I would be interested to know if other schools do this too. It's just too weird.
At least I'm no longer in any first-year classes, where we felt obligated to pitch in and buy the professor a gift. Even the crappy ones. THAT was weird.
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