Putting The Suck In Suck-Ups
April 13, 2008 Posted in Reality
All of my classes are from 4:40 to 7:10PM. It feels like a really long time. It’s over dinner and it’s hard to stay awake. My saving grace is the few instances when we can get out early. I recently had one of those days.Those extra 15 minutes were like a glimmer of hope. I was drowning in research, boring questions and pointless worksheets. Those 15 minutes were my life preserver…and they were quickly dashed away by a little group I like to call Suck-Ups.
I’m sure they’re in your classes too. They sit in the front. They ask last minute questions. They actually do the reading, even the optional chapters. They send links and articles to the professor. Some of you may be thinking, “Those people are just good students.” And yes, the aforementioned habits are something good students and Suck-Ups share. The difference is in the intentions. Good students do those things to better themselves and learn the material. Suck-Ups do it so the professor will notice and give them a good grade or a reference.
You’d think this behavior would stop in high school, or at least the early stages of undergrad, but I think it gets worse. I am currently in my first year of grad school and I’ve never seen such devious behavior. Today my instructor told us he received an e-mail from a concerned student telling him people were on Facebook during class.
Are you kidding me? This brown-nosing, conceited group is now dictating the way I behave in class! I can handle Suck-Ups monopolizing the teacher’s time and I can handle them doing extra assignments but when they start reporting the habits of their classmates to the teacher, somethings gotta give.
I don’t know what I’m going to go just yet but my personal mission for the rest of school year is to stop Suck-Ups in their tracks. Maybe I’ll put water on the front row seats so they’ll have to sit behind me. Or maybe I’ll work on my evil eye so I can shoot glares across the room.
Any more ideas would be great. Please join me in my quest to stand up to these people. They need to be stopped and I think we’re the ladies to do it.
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elizabeth says:
Sun, 13th Apr 200811:24 pm
Do you actually think that sticking up for your right to goof off in class is any more admirable than the behavior of the suck up? Sure, you have long days and most people don't pay attention all the time, but how can you possibly claim that you're better than the people who somehow manage to, gasp, "actually do the reading?"; that it's therefore ok for you to bring the people who play by the rules down? You're expressing the same frustration that the suck up who reported your classmates to your teacher feels- frustration that other people approach school differently and seem to benefit from that approach to an unfair degree. The only difference between you and the suck up is that the suck up is putting in more effort. So personally, I'm on the side of the so called suck up here.
topeka says:
Mon, 14th Apr 200812:31 am
people who made efforts surely deserve better result! but how about all the uncertainties? know what? there's an online dating site _millionaireloves.com_ which is gaining popurity now and some of my roomates are playing on it; and what blew my mind was most of them end up with so wealthy singles!! now i know, it's the place for all wealthy people playing dating!! and they really got the right place!!LOL
M.L. says:
Mon, 14th Apr 20088:21 am
I understand where you are coming from, there are some people who take it to the extreme, however, most students who pay attention in class and develop a reptoire with the teachers are actually just good students. I can't tell you how sick I am of going to class and seeing people goof off, never participate in discussion, or stare at nothing. Give me a break, you pay so much for an education you might as well try ad learn something. If you don't want to go to class, don't go to university. If you don't want to do the required readings, then why are you in the class?
Understandably, there is always going to be one student who is percieved as a suck up, but do you really know that she/e is sucking up for personal gain, or are they just trying to learn? It's unfortunate that a student felt a need to tell on the other kids about them being on facebook, however, what are the other students doing on facebook during class? Why do to class if you are going to be on facebook anyways.
For Real? says:
Mon, 14th Apr 200811:31 am
I totally agree with this article. I'm also glad you made the distinction b/tw suckups and good students. Truly good students wouldn't care that others were on facebook during class – it doesn't hinder their education so why bother worrying about it. (Actually, it probably helps them b/c people who don't do the reading are doing other things rather than asking dumb questions.) Suckups are just trying to get ahead for the sake of getting ahead. They are bad people with malicious intentions and I think you are right to want to be rid of them.
For Real? says:
Mon, 14th Apr 200811:36 am
As for elizabeth's comment, in what way are people who are on facebook during class benefiting from a "different approach"? It's not like they are cheating on tests. If they perform well in class it is most likely that they are smart and prepared for tests and don't need to be putting in extra "effort" (read: using brownie points to get better grades rather than minding their own business and earning their grades) like the suckups.
E says:
Tue, 15th Apr 20082:15 pm
My college schedule is mon, wed, and fri, 17-23HS!!!!!!! I know it sucks when it´s around 10, I´m desperately trying to remain awake (I get up at 6.30am for work), wishing the class to end and these suck-ups keep asking dumb questions just to prove they´ve even read the footnotes (you can soooooooo tell the difference between suck-ups ang good students…) but at least I have my best buddy with me, sharing our last semester together! (I´m graduating in July, he´s in December)