(Not) Playing the Joker Card

Distance-learning classes bring together an interesting mixture of personalities. Unfortunately, not all of the personalities are positive, helpful ones. You are bound to run into some characters that are in love with the sound of their own voices, or that love seeing their ‘humorous’ remarks in black and white in the classroom chat.

It may seem to lighten the mood and make the classroom experience more fun… at first. After a while, though, you will begin to notice that these types of remarks not only take away from the discussion time available, they can also often distract and frustrate the instructor, who has set an agenda for the available class time. It can also mean that other students don’t have a chance to make their point or argument, taking away a learning opportunity from their classmates.

Remember, too, that every student is making an impression on his or her instructor in every class that they attend. Those students who talk just to talk and make joking comments are making the wrong type of impression. They also build a reputation with their classmates and may not be as likely to be chosen as team members on group assignments.

The truth is these types of students are generally covering up the fact that they’re unprepared for class because they haven’t done or didn’t understand the reading for the week. They don’t have a lot of original thoughts and opinions to offer, so they cover up for it by making jokes or silly comments. They may think that this will cover the participation requirement that some instructors have for class sessions.

As I discussed in an earlier post, though, professors didn’t become professors by being unobservant or easily fooled by mindless banter. They can tell who is contributing meaningful thoughts and opinions and who is just trying to fake their way through a semester by playing the joker.

The moral of the story? If you want to get the right kind of attention from your instructors and classmates, be an ace. Don’t be a joker.