Before today's entry I want to inform everyone that from now on when I speak of an arbitrary person, I will address that person as "he" or "him" instead of typing "he or she" or "him or her." My main reason in doing so is not to discredit the possibility of one or many of these people being female; rather it is to avoid annoying repetition as was seen in the previous sentence. Back to the blog...
Don't you hate it when that one obnoxiously smart person in your class comes up to you and asks you how you did on a recent assignment when he already knows he or she did better than you? Now, let me describe who that one person is. He is probably not one of your good friends or maybe not even a friend at all, but you acknowledge his presence when you see him purely because you don't want to seem rude. That one person is the one who everyone in the class, including him and the professor, knows is the most intelligent. They also know that this student chooses to participate in an "unconventional" social life. When most students are going crazy with their friends on a Friday or Saturday night around midnight, this student is studying or sleeping. Disclaimer: I am not disagreeing with this lifestyle. These students have the right to do with their time whatever they please, but the point I'm trying to make is that most students don't take this approach. Anyways, back to the topic at hand. So most of us have one of these students in most of our classes and we can picture who it is. Now imagine you get a test back that you took last week. You got an acceptable score: nothing amazing, but you're satisfied. I'm not gonna throw any numbers out there because different people have different standards. Class ends and you begin walking to your next destination. The nosy classmate quickly approaches from behind and once reaching you asks, "hey, how'd you do on the exam?" You proceed to say, "I was satisfied with my score" and ask how he did, solely for the reason of seeming like you're interested even though you're probably not. He replies ever too confidently, "Well, I set the curve again. A 97 this time." At this point it's all you can do not to turn and yell something obnoxious right in his face or maybe even inflict physical pain on him, but you decide to refrain because you realize it's not even worth you time. You walk away, huffing and puffing about how much this student's arrogance irritates you. You tell a couple of your friends about how annoying he is and that's usually the end of it. That same situation might not play out every time, but it's definitely happened to me multiple times. Now, don't get this person confused with the people who legitimately care. There have been multiple students in my classes who have asked me how I've done on assignments, but the difference is that I KNOW these people are my friends and have a legitimate interest in my success. I guess we all just have to have a filter to determine the difference between the good guys and the bad guys. Interaction with the nosy classmate isn't the worst thing that could happen, but his actions might be bad enough to bother you for an hour or a semester, so keep your eye out for him.
Until next time,
Zac
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Being out of college for some time, I had forgotten so quickly the bitterness and angst that such encounters caused me in the past! In college, I had an entire script devoted to these the nosy classmates but never actually had the courage to read it aloud to one of the guilty. I would encourage others to prepare their own witty and tactful response scripts highlighting the nosy classmates shortcomings socially!
ReplyDeleteI have noticed that these encounters have really subsided for me since high school. I think this annoyance is a direct result of the size of your classes. For instance, I have multiple classes with 300+ students, and I find myself rarely talking to students from those classes unless it is the casual, "Hey can I get the notes from Friday real quick?" One aspect I really enjoy about my large classes is that the professors don't know who you are regardless of who you are. They treat a smartypants "A" student worse than a respectful "D" student, and I think that is a true character-builder for every student regardless of how they perform in the classroom. The nosy classmate caused me endless frustration in high school, but thank God for my blood pressure that I no longer encounter him.
ReplyDeleteI have had my fair share of these. These are the kids that will work their whole entire lives but always try to edge someone else out. But ultimately they will fall behind because they are too worried about wondering what other people are doing that they themselves will miss out on opportunities to get ahead.
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