Grads vs. Undergrads

Thursdays are the days that I spend in class at DePaul University in Chicago. By next June, I will have my very own Master of Arts in Writing.

In my Writing For Fiction class, there are several undergraduate students that didn't form a large enough group to create their own class, so they've been mixed into the graduate section - something I'm not thrilled with. I've only been out of undergrad for two years, but being with these students makes it feel like decades ago.

First, I'm amazed at the language they use in class. It's "F*** this" and "F*** that," with the professor right there. I'm not a prude or anything, but there's a time and place for that talk, and the classroom is not it. Secondly, they're constantly not completing assignments and constantly giving BS excuses - "I had a big test to study for and I didn't have time." "I didn't have the assignment written down so I didn't know what we were supposed to do." Never mind the fact that the assignment load isn't that heavy in the first place and that it is NOT acceptable to pick and choose the work you feel like completing for a particular week. Never mind that our professor created a sheet filled with students' names, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses JUST SO that we can contact other classmates if need be, AND that these undergrads are all friends and could've gotten any one of the assignments with little effort. And these excuses aren't just presented to the teacher during the designated break - for some reason, these students feel the need to share their cockamamee stories with the entire class. They constantly interrupt the professor when she's talking with inappropriate outbursts, and one student even said that she had probably read more on a particular subject and was therefore probably more knowledgable. The gall of these people!

As much as I enjoy Writing For Fiction, I'll be very glad when it's over.

Comments

[Anonymous]

You ought to tell those undergrads to "F***-off!"
Just Kidding.
But when is the time and place for that talk?

Maura

[Frema]

Drunk on the couch, out at the bar, at the grocery store... whatever.

(In case it wasn't clear, I was just kidding about the bar.)

[Sambo V.]

They got no respect for their momma's!