HTML Preview Classroom Behavior Contract page number 1.
CONTRACT ON CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR
by Dr. Delaney R. Kirk (reprinted by permission)
1. Class begins promptly at the beginning of the class period. You should be in your seat and
ready to start participating in class at that time. That same rule also applies to me – I should be
ready at the start of class, which means having the technology operational.
a. Always bring the required supplies and be ready to be actively engaged in the learning
process. This communicates preparedness and interest.
b. If you come into class after an assignment has already been passed back, please do not
ask for your assignment until after the class is over. It’s unfair to the other students in class to
wait while the professor searches again for your paper because you weren’t there the first time.
Just ask for it after class, and I’ll be happy to supply it to you.
c. In deciding whether to attend class, please do not ask your professor if she/he is covering
anything important on that day. The course is carefully planned out – every day is important.
2. If you bring a newspaper to class, put it away before the start of class. If you sat in a business
meeting and read the Wall Street Journal while the boss was outlining a new strategy, you’d
likely be fired or demoted. The same standard applies here. In return, I promise to listen when
you are talking to me and to treat you with respect.
3. Similarly, do not study material from other classes during this class. If you feel that you must
spend our class time studying or doing homework, please go to the library.
4. Turn your cell phone off or to vibrate before the start of class. I’ll also turn mine off.
5. It is fine to bring a drink or a snack to class, as long as it isn’t distracting. However, please
remember that someone else will be coming into the room after your class is done, so PICK UP
YOUR TRASH. You wouldn’t visit a friend’s house and leave newspapers, cans, bottles, and
wrappers lying around after you left, so please don’t do it here.
6. I expect to have your attention for the full class period. This means:
a. Avoid conversations with people sitting around you. It’s a small room – even if you whisper,
please realize that other people can certainly see you, and that’s distracting to them (and to
me.)
b. Do not start zipping up your backpack and rustling papers before the end of the class
period. There’s sufficient time for you to get to your next class to another without disrupting the
last few minutes of this class. If one person does it, it seems to trigger others to do it, and it
makes the last few minutes (when announcements are often made) less than
optimal for everyone.
7. If you know that you’ll need to leave before the class is over, try to sit as close to the door as
possible so as not to disrupt others. Similarly, if you arrive in class late, just slip in as quietly as
possible and take the first available seat you come to.
8. If you are so tired that you cannot keep your head up, you should leave. I realize that
environmental factors affect this, including warm rooms, dimmed lights, and material that may
not be interesting to you. However, laying your head on the desk or sleeping in class is rude,
and it is distracting to others. (Would you consider me rude if you invited me to a party
and I slept on your sofa during the party?) I’ll try to make class interesting, but remember that
my primary goal is to teach you, not to entertain you.