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What to bring to class

Paper and pen/pencil

This seems so basic, but many of my students arrive without any way to write anything. A spiral notebook for each class is a great idea, and you should bring more than one pen or pencil because pens run out of ink and pencil points break.

When you arrive without paper and pen or pencil, we all know:

  • You really are not serious about passing this course.
  • You think that all you need to do is sit there—actually learning anything isn’t on your menu.
  • You assume that everyone else will take care of your needs.
  • You assume that you will never have to take a quiz in class—or that it is everyone else’s responsibility to give you paper and pencil so you can pass the course.

Fortunately for the rest of us, people with this level of arrogance/ignorance will all be gone by the beginning of their sophomore year.

Paperwork for the teacher

If you have a form from your coach, a late paper, etc., don’t leave it at home. If you’re in a class where the teacher is collecting homework, bring it. (We won’t do that in ours.)

Etc.

I’m a great fan of those accordion folders for keeping papers organized, and it would be a great idea to buy a spiral notebook for each class and stick it into its own folder pocket.

Some classes will require you to bring your textbook and/or other special stuff—listen for the teacher’s instructions.

I won’t make a big deal of a water bottle—but don’t imitate one of my students who brought a whole picnic lunch every day and spread it out on the desk. That’s a mess and annoying.

Computer? Maybe

For most students, they are just a distraction, something to play on rather than paying attention and participating in the classroom. In our English class, we will sometimes have in-class writing exercises, though, so having it in your backpack isn’t a bad idea, especially if you don’t do well with handwriting things.

Phone? Nope!

I don’t think anyone would ever agree to simply leave their phone in their dorm room. That’s too bad. According to a couple of recent studies, teenagers spend an average of seven hours daily looking at their phones, which means that some people spend far more. A lot of the time you could be using for learning things or interacting with real people is consumed by staring at your phone. It’s obvious to me that some of my students cannot go a full hour without their phones (some seem incapable of going 15 minutes), but one of the biggest things you can do to improve your grades in college is to turn off your phone and put it in your backpack during class.

Absolutely NOTHING is so important that you need to text your best bud in the middle of class! And if someone has a medical emergency during class, your teacher has a phone too and will call emergency services. Just shut yours off.

Two phone policy announcements:

  1. If you are spending your time on your phone or messing about on your computer rather than paying attention in class, your attendance grade for the day is 25%. (That counts as “sleeping” because your body is here but not your mind.)
  2. If your phone or computer usage is distracting to other students, you may be asked to leave the room. Obviously, you have no use for the class, but other students came here to learn something.
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