A college education is a profoundly grown-up thing. Don't other students --who are paying good money and bringing their full concentration to the setting-- deserve a completely undistracted gathering in that most social of education's venues, the classroom?

Yeah, I feel bad for women who would rather be learning something of the outside world in the years when they're raising children. But they're raising children... A choice has been made.

Some of us are tired of being told that every last human realm is supposed to be kid-friendly. And heretofore, I thought Amy was a sister. A grown-up one!

Seriously, what's left? The surgical theater?

The battlefield?

Don't other students --who are paying good money and bringing their full concentration to the setting-- deserve a completely undistracted gathering...? ~ Crid at September 7, 2017 6:49 AM

I have the same argument for the people who let others cut in front of them in line (in traffic or on foot). What about the people behind you?

Sure, we all have a responsibility to be civil to the person who got delayed or lost or doesn't know his way around. But there are people behind you who moved over and took a place in an orderly line whom you are now pushing farther back by letting people cut in front of you.

We all see and sympathize with the hardship case. What we ignore is the series of bad choices (or self-centered actions) that led to that person being a hardship case.

We ignore the person who did the work, who put in the time, who bought the flood insurance and instead of wailing loudly is quietly rebuilding his house and his life. And when that person is reluctant to give up his carefully hoarded supplies to help the guy who didn't stock up ahead of time or buy insurance, we call him selfish or greedy. We malign him as a cancer on society.

"You know something... When I was studying law, and Mr. Keefer here was writing his stories, and you, Willie, were tearing up the playing fields of dear old Princeton, who was standing guard over this fat, dumb, happy country of ours, eh? Not us. Oh, no, we knew you couldn't make any money in the service. So who did the dirty work for us? Queeg did! And a lot of other guys." ~ Herman Wouk (The Caine Mutiny)

It's a balance, as life always is.

Example: I (usually) try to let a car in, because it happens to everyone, often just because of heavy traffic. If nobody lets people in, traffic will back up elsewhere anyway.

In a classroom: Well, it depends on the kids in question. There's a age/stage where it'd be disruptive for most, and it'd be better to just give the student-parent note or set up a webcam and stream the class. But there are also plenty of cases where it'd not really be a problem.

> Well, it depends on the kids
> in question.

No.

Like women in trench warfare, they change —and usually corrupt— the calculus of everyone around them.

Crid and Conan are right. No to the child, and No to the line cutter.

I gotta agree with the "no kids" point. In addition to paying a lot to be in that class, what will she do with the little darling(s) if the class is at max capacity and there are no available seating options?

Besides, many campuses provide day care. One probably will have to apply ahead of time, will have to sit on a waiting list for spots to open. But as I like to remind people who want me to drop everything I'm doing to help them in a crunch a failure of forethought or planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine.

Having been in college recently-in fact, STILL working on my masters.....doesnt bother me if an infant naps or kids play on ipad or colors. Anyone, of any age, causing a disruption should be asked to leave. Seems easy enough.

Oh, hell no. I paid good money to sit in class; I am not there to babysit your kid. Your choice, your problem. I would complain loudly if someone dragged their kid to class.

It all seems to be part and parcel of the general unseriousness of college, and college courses these days.

Im trying to imagine kids sitting in on calculus or themodynamics.

Nope, just not seeing it.

Most of these bullshit classes need to be replaced by computer learning at home, or eliminated entirely. This is where single mothers should be. Doing distance learning, at home and not in some half baked ticket punching seminar with their kids in tow.

Having been in graduate school not too long this happened twice.

One was an older infant or maybe a toddler who would nap until dad was able to get there to pick him up. Unfortunately the lecturer's voice disturbed the child so there was lots of little noises. Eventually the kid start crying and mom took him out.

The other was probably about 6 y/o and played on a tablet. Lots little quiet "yes"'s and stuff. And lots of whisper to mom. I found it quite distracting.

I think part of the problem was the classes happened to be in the small class rooms. In the lecture hall the kid could have gone to an upper corner and not been heard.

I don't see a problem with this as long as the kid isn't being a distraction. I had enough classes with 18 year old kids that caused more problems than most toddlers. Obviously lab classes this wouldn't work. Most of the ones I took that would be far too dangerous. Same for test days. But I'm also of the opinion that for college classes attendance should be completely optional. If you don't want to attend a lecture or something comes up then don't go and professors shouldn't care. And if you flunk a test because you stopped going to classes or doing the work then professors shouldn't care as well. Being a warm body in the room is not the objective.

Being a kid is a distraction.

It's a fucking lecture hall.

So there are 300+ people in a lecture hall and the good old sage on a stage down below. One or two kids sitting quietly reading a book don't make any difference.

Now a couple of kids talking loudly and playing around is a huge distraction. But some of those kids are 18+. The behavior is the problem not the age.

Classes where there are only 10 people in a small room are completely different. Classes where participation is the point of the class are different as well. But for most of my engineering or math classes they wouldn't have made a difference.

"women-friendly" policy?

Just why is it friendly? Friendly to whom?

He can be friendly all he wants; but, not with MY time or MY money. I paid for that class, I deserve to get the class that I paid for. Not be babysitting someone else's rugrat.

> I paid for that class, I deserve
> to get the class that I paid for.
> Not be babysitting someone else's
> rugrat.

☑

A college lecture hall is no place for a kid. Period. At one point, this just was common sense, but common sense has gone the way of Western Civ, and is even more missed.

I objected to smoking bans in bars for the same reason. Smoking kept the little bleeders out. I'll take secondhand smoke any day over a secondhand child.

We no longer have common values so we no longer have a common sense of those values.