When the Sandman comes to class
By Manuel García Sánchez
Apache Co-editor
As you walk around the halls, it is not unusual to find sleeping students on the little sofas located in the college. There is nothing wrong with that.
However, it is also common to find students sleeping during class. A majority of IVCC instructors find this both disturbing and disappointing.
According to a recent college newspaper poll given to 25 IVCC instructors, 21 said they have seen at least one student sleeping in their classes and 18 instructors admit to find it disturbing.
The best way to understand professors is to imagine you have prepared a speech, you have worked very hard trying to find a way to attract and keep your audience’s attention. Now, imagine giving your speech and finding part of your audience sleeping. How would you feel?
The survey reveals that each instructor has his or her own way of answering those questions.
“Sometimes I threaten to shoot them with a water gun,” joked Tina Nink, Nursing instructor. “The worst ones are the ones that sleep in the front row; obviously, they learn best by osmosis.”
Amanda Bigelow, instructor of political science and history, said that she wakes them up and reminds them that sleeping is not allowed in class.
Instructors may also ask the students to leave the class for a moment as Tim Horger, biology instructor, does.
“I wake them up and tell them to go for a walk, get some fresh air, or drink some water from a hall fountain to revive themselves,” Horger said.
Criminal justice program director, Rebecca Donna, claims she gets very upset with sleeping students.
“First thing I do is BEAT them, then I squirt them with a squirt gun and kick their chair and yell and scream,” Donna said. “I find it unnerving for students to sleep in my class.”
Lou Caldwell, foreign languages instructor, said that he rudely awakes the offender and repeats maliciously the last question asked.
Caldwell said, “I tell him or her that his or her grade depends upon the rectitude of their response.”
Geography and geology instructor, Mike Phillips chooses to either ask the student a question, or lower the lights and put on some soft music.
Trying to make the classes more interactive seems to work for instructors as Kim Abel, nursing instructor.
There are also very gentle instructors who let the students sleep in their classes unless they are snoring; Merri Mattison, sociology instructor is one of those.
“I figure that if they are THAT tired, they must need to sleep,” said Mattison. “I have also left them sleeping after the class was dismissed so that they would wake up in an empty classroom.”
Some instructors blame the new smart classrooms for contributing to the problem.
“When you dim the lights, it certainly creates a good setting to induce sleep,” said Dorene Perez, engineering design instructor. “I try to keep students involved, other than just listening, to prevent them from sleeping.”
Some instructors, like John Fons, physics instructor, overlook the sleeping “beauties.”
“I ignore them since they don’t bother anyone else if they are quiet,” Fons said.
Speech and theater instructor David Kuester sees this issue as a call for help.
“Either something is wrong in the student’s life or my teaching for that day really sucks,” Kuester said.
Others are more drastic. For instance Bruce Hartman, truck-driving instructor, finds that sleeping in class is unacceptable.
“If I can’t sleep, no one can,” said Hartman.