Back to It

The first day of classes almost invariably involves going over the syllabus and staging introductions. I take a good bit of time to review my policies so that my students know what they're getting into, and despite every effort to be clear, I always get some good questions. In my Public Speaking section, I talk about dress clothes as a required material for the class. One should dress moderately nicely (business casual) on speech days. I usually detail what this might include for both men and women. I also talk extensively about attendance and tardiness and how that can affect both participation grades and final course grades. I specifically said, "If you can't get here on time because of work or some other conflict, you need to enroll in a different Public Speaking class. I do not appreciate having lectures or speeches interrupted because you didn't manage your schedule well enough."

I got a few questions after class, one of which was from a young ROTC kid in fatigues and combat boots who respectfully queried, "Ma'am, does this count as dress attire? Like, could I wear this on a speech day?" I smiled and told him that it would not be best, but that a dress uniform or civilian dress clothes would work. He countered with, "So, I couldn't wear this and just change out of my combat boots?"

The second question was from a woman dressed nicely (obviously from work) who came in about 5 to 10 minutes late. She asked, "I came in late," (Really?) "And I know you said that if work conflicts that we should transfer, but I was only 5 minutes late. Do you think that's a big deal? Should I try a few more times and see if it gets better?" I told her that I would prefer not to have the class disrupted, but that she could try one more time to see if she could finagle it better. If not, she would have to transfer classes. She responded, "Well, what if I just come into your office hours to make up any lost time? You could just explain to me what I missed."

This semester is off and running!