Can We Leave Early?

Yes, almost every class I teach has someone who turns some form of "Can we leave early?" into a running joke. Mind you, I keep it going. I find that my students pay closer attention if they think they'll miss a random one-liner by drifting off, and they have indicated that it's one of the things they like about my class. One even said that mine was the only class in which she didn't fall asleep.

It's interesting, too, that while such a phrase usually identifies the class clown (yes, they still exist in college), those class clowns usually end up writing great papers. In one of my classes, I have a student with hair that I expect gets shaven off a few days before class, considering how short it is. He sits in the back. He's an excellent student, and though he makes the jokes, he also comments on the "cool stuff" he learns in class.

Just goes to show how stereotypes fail us so often. I love that about stereotypes.