Live!...from the Maxwell Auditorium!...its Saturday Night!!!
Imagine? The day I'm sitting in a classroom on a Saturday night I'm dropping out and giving up on this whole education thing. I am sitting in class right now, trying to figure out if my professor is aware that the entire back row (myself included) is sitting on their laptops presumably doing everything imaginable other than taking notes.
Now there are a few factors at play, and anybody who has sat in on at least college course knows the deal. Professor will either display notes while talking giving you something to occupy yourself with, or if you're really lucky he or she will not only provide you with notes in class, but online as well.
Now this is without question one of my favorite aspects of college. If you aren't familiar with blackboard.com, its right up there with Milfhunter for revolutionary websites. And while you wont find that skeevy guy tracking down moderately attractive over aged madres, this site (if taken full advantage of by your professor) can provide you with a get out of class free pass. All of the lectures, in their power point form, waiting for you to open the night before a midterm to look at for the first time all year.
Have I ever done this before? I'll give you three guesses and the first two don't count. Now the obvious question is what happens if the professor still takes attendance? Unfortunately, I am answering that question at this very moment. Bring your computer, a good book or magazine, something to eat, and sit back for 80 minutes and come up with anything to do that isn't taking notes.
If you do decided (or have no choice but) to go to class, there really are an endless number of things you can do to pass the time. Now I know sometimes we have those dreadful 3 hour marathons in which the University actually expects us to maintain our attention for a period of time I can't even give my undivided attention when I'm watching the Super Bowl. But whether its an hour, 2 hours or 3...theres always stuff to do thats classroom friendly.
The Internet. I don't know about you, but once it awhile I wonder what we would all be doing without it. I know I probably would have failed out of school before high school. But thanks whoever came up with this life saver of a concept (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_internet). No longer do I have wait hours at a time to see if I have any Facebook notifications (you know you all look forward to getting them). I can keep myself up to date on whats going on in the world of sports. I can talk to all of my friends with AIM. For those of you who actually care about school, you can even follow along with the Professor by accessing their website while they are lecturing. I read 3 newspapers a day, all online. I can update my fantasy teams. I can go shopping. I can browse campusfood.com and ponder what to have for lunch. The possibilities really are endless.
Literature. I really don't buy into the concept that reading is beneficial for you, although that may only be because to this day, the only books I've ever finished cover to cover are the Goosebumps classics Night of the Living Dummy and the Haunted Mask.
..you know this brings you back...
Anyway, if reading is your thing, have a blast. Just be careful not to get caught because the consequences usually include being called out in front of 150 other people and embarrassed, not to mention the potential of being thrown out of a class you don't want to be in anyway. If you went out of your way to make the trip to class, you might as well get your money's worth and stick around.
Media. If you are clever enough to figure out the right spot in class and right angle to sit, bring your headphones and iPod away. If you're really creative bring your laptap and your headphones and watch a movie or a TV show. Waste more time than you already have on youTube. And if you have figured out a way to successfully pull this one off, please let me know how.
So you see, going to class really isn't as bad as it used to be. Thanks to the gift of modern technology, you can learn about Pearl Harbor while watching the incredibly shitty film version at the same time (although unless you've got a thing for Josh Hartnet, I'm not sure why you would. I'm actually more of a Ben Affleck guy myself, and while I know he too was in this movie, Armageddon was way better.).
My advice? If your professor does not take attendance, that their problem, not yours. If they put their lectures online, thats strike 2 against them. And if they put their lecture notes online, and don't care if you show up?
Back to bed my friend.
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