Close that Computer and Listen Up!

by Echo Angelicchio

Flash back to my sophomore year in the 11:15am section of A201. I’m sitting in one of the back rows, switching back and forth between browsing for a deal on K-cups on Amazon and catching up on homework for a different class. I’m sure there was some Facebook checking in there as well. I definitely had my course packet out, but it sat unopened under my laptop. I didn’t once raise my hand, and my professor probably wouldn’t recognize me in a crowd. I didn’t meet anyone new. I later spent hours on end in the library teaching myself accounting to master all the material before exams, often pulling all-nighters.

Flash forward to the first semester of my senior year, in my 9:30am Venture Growth Management class. We are not allowed to use laptops, or any technology at all while the professor calls out students at random to discuss material from the readings for that day’s lesson. I come to class prepared, I participate and engage openly, and I share ideas and opinions with classmates. I don’t pull all-night study sessions for exams, because I’m always caught up with the material. If you don’t do the readings, you are sure to feel incompetent and a little left out of the conversation come class time.

What I have learned since that A201 lecture is the value that shutting your laptop can bring to your classroom experience. Unfortunately, the class I just described is nowhere near the norm in Kelley. For the greater part of my academic career, I sat through classes, even very small lectures, where it felt like the professor was talking to the backs of laptops rather than students.

I know sometimes it’s hard to remember – I mean this in all seriousness, as I’m guilty of this, too – but we are here primarily to get an education. At the Kelley School of Business, we have the opportunity to get an incredible one. Most students would be shocked at the impressive and varied careers that our professors have had, and by how much we can actually learn from them beyond their course material. However, most of us also never take the time to get to know them beyond doing what's necessary to get a good grade. 

I can say from personal experience that the opportunities and accomplishments I’m most proud of have happened because of the relationships I’ve forged with some of my professors. You may not think that it's “cool” to befriend your teacher, but I can tell you that it’s one of the most genuinely cool things you can do.

Aside from the benefits you can gain from actively making an effort with your professors, you owe it to them and to yourself, and to whoever is paying your tuition, to engage in class. You aren’t ever going to look back and say you wish you had spent more time on Facebook in college. However, you might look back and regret not taking advantage of the knowledge and resources you have at your fingertips during these four short years.