From the Chicago Tribune (September 6, 2009 Edition):
Rude behavior in college classrooms is often a matter of course: College students more disrespectful, professors find
As the article states, the "decline in classroom manners" is based on anecdotal evidence, rather than empirical studies. What do you think about the validity of this claim?
[Thanks to Kate for sharing this article]
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I question the validity of the anecdotal evidence provided. Social psychologists suggest that we often estimate the frequency of events based on how easily examples of those events can be brought to mind. For example, I can think of many instances of rude behavior from students within the last month. I can think of far fewer instances from two years ago. This is not because students were less rude two years ago, but rather because my memory of those events is weaker. I would imagine that it is also easier to think of concrete examples of rude behavior from students within the last few years than decades ago. I agree with the author that students are often rude, but not that they are ruder today than they were decades ago.
ReplyDelete