Good Thing I Teach on the First Floor

Since final papers are due next week, I just gave my students the class time to work and the opportunity to receive help or ask questions. I would periodically walk around to make sure they were working on their research papers and not other assignments, but mostly I just read if I wasn't assisting a student. Admittedly, class was less formal than usual as I did not have any lesson to give and I was quite laid-back. During my afternoon class today, I got absorbed in my book and looked up only because a female student coughed loudly (to get my attention). As I glanced in her direction, I saw one of my male students running down the hill outside. He had jumped out the window! Without thinking I uttered, "What the hell!" The entire class roared in laughter. After a good laugh, everyone calmed down and went back to work. Then not two minutes later from my peripheral vision I see another student, Danny, jumping out the window. Frankly, I was so taken aback I didn't even say something but just watched him follow the same path downhill.

I understand they weren't wanting to work on their final, but I still find it peculiar. I suppose this is a good example of foreign teachers not being granted the same respect as their Chinese teachers - whose windows they would certainly not jump out of to escape class early. Moreover, I assume being an entire four years older doesn't help in getting them to take me seriously. I was rather worried about that before the start of the semester so I've never told them I am only 24. While American university students can be apt to skip class or slack off, Chinese students are extremely studious and diligent. So attempts to leave or skip class are rare, especially through windows. Mostly, however, I find the incident rather hilarious. Next week I plan to write the definition of a door and a window on the chalkboard and give these two students a hard time. Perhaps I will get all the girls to applaud as they enter and exit through the doorway. And, of course, they lost some participation points today.