There's a great post on College at 50, today. It niggled in my mind that I had maybe heard something like this before. After some Googling I found the very passage.
"All this takes place before the speaking begins; after the teacher has entered upon his declamation and begun to speak, then the students keep up a constant signaling back and forth about drivers and mimes and horses and dancers, and about this or that battle that has taken place or is to take place.
Further, some stand like statues, with one arm thrown over the other, while others delve in their noses with both hands at once; (Does that mean what I think it means?) still others sit without moving a muscle, notwithstanding all the brilliant points that I make, or forcibly detain in their seats those who have been moved by my words. Some count those who come in after them, while others find it sufficient to gaze at the leaves, or are better pleased to chatter over chance subjects than to listen to the speaker.
Surpassing all this in audacity is the act of those who interrupt genuine applause with spurious, choke the voice of enthusiasm at its source, and parade through the whole theater, withdrawing from the lecture all whom they can influence, either by false messages or by invitations to come and bathe before breakfast — this also being an extravagance on which some spend their money. . . . "
It's from the writings of Libanius, the 4th Century Athenian Sophist.
Becky reminds us that the scene is the same, only today the students are texting each other.
And another Snippet:
“…(students) squander the precious resources of their fathers on wine, gaming, expensive dining and other entertainment. (They) refused to attend classes, and when they did attend, laughed loudly and inappropriately and chatted with their fellows during the lectures. “
Students formed gangs that engaged in frequent street battles with supporters of rival professors. “Their rioting and carousing sometimes engulfed the whole city. How the Athenians must have hated them! Imagine the disrepute that attached itself to the name scholastikos!”
The book can be further plagiarized by directing your browser to: The Universities of Ancient Greece.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
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2 comments:
How fun that you remembered and found this! The history I've read, which isn't much, doesn't usually give me a picture of real people in recognizable circumstances.
Do you want to know something wacky (and maybe you're the link)? "O Mighty Crisis," which "College at 50" references, is the blog of my colleague Jocelyn. She's writing about Lake Superior College, and she's working hard to make sure said student is in one of my sections next semester.
In spite of the fact that not much has changed, I'll take texting over digging into noses with both hands. It's probably not an either/or choice, though.
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