Whether it be an intense dislike for loud gum chewing or an aversion to aimless pen clicking, everyone has their pet peeves. Teachers find their patience tested on a daily basis. From clueless tardy students to a lack of spatial awareness, here are some pet peeves shared by teachers across campus.
Board Blindness
While tardiness is an obvious no-go, Chemistry teacher Jason Chang is troubled by more than students just being late to class. “My pet peeve is when students walk into class and yell ‘What are we doing?’ You could just read the board or ask your partner, rather than disrupt the class,” he explained.
Like most teachers, Chang also gets tired of repeating himself—especially when it’s information students miss due to tardiness. “Something I would like to implement is an ‘ask three then me’ type of situation. If you still can’t find an answer, then you should ask me, because clearly the majority of the class is also confused,” he said.
Clueless Crushes
Economics teacher Jack Neumeier has a strong radar for budding romances, often picking up the sparks between students before they do. “A pet peeve I have is when there are two students who are obviously into each other from my perspective, but from their perspective, they’re completely ignorant to it. I have to be the one to inform them that it’s very obvious, but they don’t realize that that’s what’s going on,” he explained.
This lack of awareness can sometimes lead to awkward moments in the classroom.“I just want them to snap out of it and be like ‘Wait a minute, that’s what’s been going on this whole time,’” Neumeier added.
Blocking Flow
Pre-Calculus teacher Arminda King is consistently frustrated by the lack of spatial awareness. “People leave one physical space and then forget that other people are also leaving that physical space,” she said. “When you get off an escalator and some people just stand right at the end, it’s like, other people are coming.”
King sees this problem on M-A’s campus. “This happens all the time in Pride Hall, where students will come out of the bathroom or something, and then they just stand there, and then everyone else bumps in,” she said. Next time you leave a classroom, make sure to think before you stand in the middle of the hall.
Untimely Exits
French teacher Sapna Bhagwat has a generous, unrestricted bathroom policy, which unfortunately comes with a price. “I hate it when students go to the bathroom right when we’re starting something new, like grammar explanations, or a dialogue that they really cannot stand to miss,” she said.
Not only does that student fall behind, but it also puts a strain on their classmates. “Their group has to wait for them to come back, and they have to fill them in once they return,” Bhagwat said. She hopes students schedule their bathroom breaks around lulls in the class period.
Ignoring Instructions
While it may seem like a no-brainer, English Language Development teacher James Nelson finds that many students don’t read the instructions written on their assignments. “I go bananas when I ask for students to talk about imagery in a passage, and they talk all about character analysis. I didn’t ask about character analysis. I asked for imagery. If I wanted character analysis, I would ask for character analysis,” Nelson said.
Creating worksheets isn’t an easy task. “We spend so long figuring out what exactly we want you to say and do,” he continued. “Just read it. Read the freaking instructions.” To combat this issue, Nelson leaves messages in long paragraphs for students to catch, like “If you’re reading this, underline your name,” or else they face a penalty.
