Nov 12

Written by: author
11/12/2009

• I’d estimate that less than 10% of students use backpacks.  Most girls just carry purses and guys usually just carry their books in hand.  Actually, I probably look like more of a student than they do, considering I have yet to substitute a briefcase for my North Face backpack that I continue to haul around.  Not to mention, I wear the same Polos, topsiders and Costas as when I roamed Furman’s campus.  (Speaking of which, I think the U.S. is the only country where khakis are worn.  In all my time in Europe and China, rarely if ever have I seen anyone wearing them.  It seems strange, especially since I would consider them a staple of any American male’s wardrobe.)  
• No students have full-size notebook paper.  If they ever take notes in class, it’s on the equivalent of scrap paper.  I collected an in-class writing assignment the other day – I don’t think any two pages were the same size.
• Never will students place their bag (or any other possession) on the ground.  Instead, they will usually place it behind them in their seat or on top of their desk.  In the dining hall, students would rather give up their own seat as a place to set my bag rather than have me place it on the floor.  Therefore, I have learned to hang my bag over the back of my chair in order not to make the students uncomfortable.
• Many students feel the duty to erase the chalkboard for the teacher before and after class.  One time, I couldn’t find the eraser and without thinking about it started to erase a word on the board with my hand, which immediately elicited audible gasps from my students.  For the sake of my students, I now always keep an eraser close at hand.
• Some students will hesitate when entering class if I’m already at the front of the room, even though class hasn’t started.  They will sometimes stand at the doorway, knock on the open door and politely say, “I’m sorry,” or “Excuse me,” regardless of the fact that class doesn’t begin for another ten minutes.  I always try to warmly greet them in order to avoid making them feel awkward. 
• Probably about 80% of students wear eyeglasses and many of those who don’t wish they did.  Since most believe glasses to be quite fashionable, it’s not uncommon to find girls wearing frames without lenses.  Sunglasses are a different story – rarely will you ever see anyone wearing them. 

Kent

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