I had a lecture for the undergraduate students in the post-lunch session. It seemed to be a merry crowd. The students kept filing in at a slow and leisurely pace. I had said 'Good afternoon' to the class before beginning of the class. But I could not keep saying it every time someone walked in.
"Will you kindly say 'Good afternoon' for me to people who keep walking in?" I asked the fellow sitting near the door. He did not say anything - neither yes nor no. But he did not seem enthusiastic about it, and did not say that to the next batch which walked in. So I kept saying it every time a group walked in. I think they missed the sarcasm, and thought I was a very well mannered teacher.
Once they all had settled down in their cushioned comfortable seats, they started their usual activities. A boy in black T-shirt and a girl also in black T-shirt started an animated chat, which I could not hear owing to the distance between us, but could see very well. After some time, I realized they had no intention of letting up, nor were they discussing some point in m my lecture that they had not understood.
"Will you kindly stop chatting?" I said. "It is distracting me."
They stopped. The fellow immediately put his head between his forearms on the bench and went to sleep. His chatting friend started showing some interest in what I was saying, probably out of fear of being caught once. Two other girls - one in the last row near the exit and one in the middle near aisle went to sleep. All three kept sleeping throughout my lecture. When I ended, I solved the questions some of the students raised. Then I said,
"Like the problem of persistent occipitoposterior position that we discussed today, there is another problem in medical education - that of persistent sleepers. I request the neighbors of such persistent sleepers in this class to wake up the sleepers after I leave?"
I hope they did as I requested, partly because I was feeling guilty having interrupted a chat between the chatters, and partly because the next teacher would not perhaps take it so kindly if they slept during the class.
"Will you kindly say 'Good afternoon' for me to people who keep walking in?" I asked the fellow sitting near the door. He did not say anything - neither yes nor no. But he did not seem enthusiastic about it, and did not say that to the next batch which walked in. So I kept saying it every time a group walked in. I think they missed the sarcasm, and thought I was a very well mannered teacher.
Once they all had settled down in their cushioned comfortable seats, they started their usual activities. A boy in black T-shirt and a girl also in black T-shirt started an animated chat, which I could not hear owing to the distance between us, but could see very well. After some time, I realized they had no intention of letting up, nor were they discussing some point in m my lecture that they had not understood.
"Will you kindly stop chatting?" I said. "It is distracting me."
They stopped. The fellow immediately put his head between his forearms on the bench and went to sleep. His chatting friend started showing some interest in what I was saying, probably out of fear of being caught once. Two other girls - one in the last row near the exit and one in the middle near aisle went to sleep. All three kept sleeping throughout my lecture. When I ended, I solved the questions some of the students raised. Then I said,
"Like the problem of persistent occipitoposterior position that we discussed today, there is another problem in medical education - that of persistent sleepers. I request the neighbors of such persistent sleepers in this class to wake up the sleepers after I leave?"
I hope they did as I requested, partly because I was feeling guilty having interrupted a chat between the chatters, and partly because the next teacher would not perhaps take it so kindly if they slept during the class.
