The professor was an excellent professional and her classes were very interesting, she had a great experience in her area of study and was highly appreciated at the University.
I enrolled in the subject she taught to complement my master's studies and my classmates were mostly friends and acquaintances in the profession.
The professor was very strict and among her rules, which she told us on the first day of class, was that of punctuality. Class started at 8 am sharp and ended at 12 noon with a half hour break at 10 am. Only a 10-minute delay was allowed at the entrance.
We soon realized that the rule had to be followed to the letter.
The classroom was in the agricultural field, where the practices were held. That area was a bit removed from the central area of the Faculty near the mountain. To get there you had to walk for about half an hour between cultivated areas and natural vegetation, if you didn't have a vehicle, or wait for someone passing by to give you the queue. But in the early morning there were few vehicles arriving to go up.
The classroom was spacious with large windows overlooking the gardens and had a large metal door leading to a hallway where offices and laboratories were located.
During the first week of classes about 15 minutes after class started, we heard someone knocking on the door several times but the teacher continued as if nothing had happened.
The banging continued and we all looked at each other's faces. We knew, because there were only a few of us students, who was outside.
"Teacher!, they are knocking on the door," said one of the students.
She was writing on the blackboard, turned and looked at us through her glasses, with a very serious expression, and then looked at her watch.
"I heard, but I'm not going to open the door. Class has already started and I'm not going to interrupt it". And she continued writing.
The student who was knocking on the door left and waited for the recess to talk to the teacher and then she allowed him to enter.
After this incident we all tried to be on time because we knew we would miss half the class if we did not.
A second time another student arrived late but this time it was only a few minutes, but the teacher was relentless.
It was very uncomfortable to sit there and not say anything to support our classmate. We all kept quiet. Then we saw him leaning out the window.
"Teacher, let me go to class, I was on time, my watch was 10 past 8 when I knocked on the door", and he pointed to the time on his wristwatch.
"That's right teacher, mine too," said another student.
And this time we tried to help our classmate because it seemed to us not only unfair but we were all professionals who studied and worked there and we did not want to waste time but to take advantage of the class.
"I already started the class, you have to wait for the recess so as not to interrupt".
But one day we were all the students in the classroom, we had arrived very punctual, even before 8 am. Minutes passed and it was 10 past 8 and the teacher did not arrive. Five more minutes passed and we started talking among ourselves.
"What happened to the teacher?, maybe she is not coming to class", I commented to a friend.
Of course at that time there were no cell phones and there was no way to communicate with her.
Then the classmate who had not been able to come to class because he was 15 minutes late and who was known for being a joker, told us
"The teacher is late, let's close the door".
We all laughed. Some of us agreed and others didn't, they thought it was disrespectful. But the majority prevailed and the door was closed.
A few minutes later we heard several knocks on the door.
"Shall we open it", someone commented
"Let's not open yet".
What if it's the teacher? She'll be upset.
And sure enough, she kept knocking on the door and told us to open it.
We looked like children having fun giving the teacher a spoonful of her own medicine, until reason returned and the same person who had closed the door went to open it.
The teacher came in and stood in front of the class. She stood there for a few seconds in silence, while we waited for her to claim us.
"Good morning! I'm glad you're all here in class, and I apologize for the delay". And for the first time, we saw her smile.
To our surprise, she understood that she had been very strict with her students.
From that day on, she was more flexible with the start time, meaning that punctuality was not important. Her students appreciated her even more, and the tense relationship that existed was broken. She became more cordial and friendly. And her class was one of the best I can remember that year.
Spanish Versión
La hora de entrada
La profesora era una excelente profesional y sus clases muy interesantes, tenía una gran experiencia en su área de estudio y era muy apreciada en la Universidad.
Me inscribí en la materia que ella dictaba para complementar mis estudios de maestría y mis compañeros eran, en su mayoría, amigos y conocidos en la profesión.
La profesora era muy estricta y dentro de sus normas, que nos dijo el primer día de clase, estaba la de la puntualidad. La clase comenzaba a las 8 de la mañana en punto y terminaba a las 12 con un receso de media hora a las 10 am. Solo se permitía un retraso de 10 minutos a la entrada.
Pronto nos dimos cuenta de que la norma había que cumplirla al pie de la letra.
El salón quedaba en el campo agrícola, donde se hacían las prácticas. Esa área estaba un poco retirado de la zona central de la Facultad, cerca de la montaña. Para llegar había que caminar aproximadamente media hora entre áreas cultivadas y la vegetación natural, si no se tenía vehículo o esperar que alguien al pasar te diera la cola. Pero en la mañana temprano eran pocos los vehículos que llegaban a subir.
El salón era amplio y con grandes ventanales que daban a los jardines y tenía una puerta grande de metal que daba a un pasillo donde se encontraban oficinas y laboratorios.
En la primera semana de clases, como 15 minutos después de comenzar la clase, escuchamos a alguien tocar la puerta varias veces, pero la profesora siguió como si nada.
Los golpes continuaron y todos nos mirábamos las caras. Sabíamos por qué éramos pocos los estudiantes, quien estaba afuera.
Profesora están tocando la puerta, dijo uno de los estudiantes.
Ella estaba escribiendo en la pizarra, se volteó y nos miró a través de sus lentes, con una expresión muy seria y luego observó su reloj.
Ya escuché, pero no voy a abrir la puerta. Ya la clase comenzó y no la voy a interrumpir. Y continuó escribiendo.
El estudiante que estaba tocando la puerta se retiró y espero el receso para hablar con la profesora y entonces ella le permitió entrar.
Después de este incidente todos tratábamos de llegar puntuales porque sabíamos que perderíamos la mitad de la clase si no lo hacíamos.
En una segunda oportunidad otro estudiante llegó con retraso, pero esta vez era de apenas unos minutos, pero la profesora era implacable.
Era muy incómodo estar sentados y no decir nada para apoyar a nuestro compañero. Todos nos quedamos callados. Entonces lo vimos asomarse a la ventana.
Profesora, déjeme entrar a clase, yo llegue puntual, mi reloj tenía las 8 y 10 cuando toque la puerta y señalaba con el dedo la hora en su reloj de pulsera.
Es cierto profesora, el mío también, le dijo otro estudiante.
Y en esta oportunidad tratamos de ayudar a nuestro compañero porque nos parecía no solo injusto, sino que allí todos éramos profesionales que estudiábamos y trabajábamos y no queríamos perder el tiempo, sino aprovechar la clase.
Pero ella consideraba que la puntualidad era muy importante. Y le contestó
Ya comencé la clase, tienes que esperar el receso para no interrumpir.
Pero un día estábamos todos los alumnos en el salón, habíamos llegado muy puntuales, inclusive antes de las 8 am. Pasaron los minutos y se hicieron las 8 y 10 y la profesora no llegaba. Pasaron 5 minutos más y empezamos a hablar entre nosotros.
¿Que le habrá pasado a la profesora?, ¿será que no va a venir a clase?, le comenté a una amiga.
Por supuesto, en esa época no existían aún los teléfonos celulares y no había manera de comunicarnos con ella.
Entonces el compañero que no había podido entrar a clases por llegar 15 min tarde y que se caracterizaba por ser muy bromista nos dice
La profesora está llegando tarde, vamos a cerrarle la puerta.
Todos nos reímos. Algunos estuvimos de acuerdo y otros no, les parecía una falta de respeto. Pero prevaleció la mayoría y la puerta fue cerrada.
A los pocos minutos escuchamos tocar la puerta varias veces.
¿Abrimos?, comentó alguien
No vamos a abrir todavía
¿Y si es la profesora? Se va a molestar.
Y efectivamente, siguió tocando la puerta y nos dijo que la abriéramos
Parecíamos unos niños que se divertían dándole a la profesora una cucharada de su propia medicina, hasta que la razón regreso y la misma persona que había cerrado la puerta fue a abrir.
La profesora entró y se paró frente a la clase. Estuvo allí unos segundos en silencio, mientras nosotros esperábamos que nos reclamara.
¡Buenos días! Me alegra que todos estén aquí en la clase y les pido disculpas por el retraso. Y por primera vez la vimos sonreír.
Para nuestra sorpresa, ella comprendió que había sido muy estricta con sus alumnos.
Desde ese día fue más flexible con la hora de entrada sin que esto significara que la puntualidad no era importante. Sus alumnos la apreciamos aún más y se rompió esa relación tensa que existía, se hizo más cordial y amigable. Y su clase fue una de las mejores que yo recuerde en ese año.
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Saludos y feliz tarde
¡Eso es genial @popurri! ¡Estamos aquí para animarte a alcanzar tus próximas metas en Hive!
It was a good ending after the teacher got served her own medicine but more thankfully, she didn't react negatively on the students. It was a good script dear friend
Hello @jjmusa2004.
Thank you for your comment.
She understood the message and responded in a good way.
Greetings and happy day!
This is an effective application of the prompt. The teacher was correct, and at the same time she was wrong. It can be a bit absurd, and even cruel, to follow a rule rigidly. She could not see that, until the rule was applied to her. It is a credit to her character that she did not resent the turning of the table, but accepted the gentle lesson implicit in the class's actions.
You offer excellent details in this piece, @popurri, so we can understand the potential challenge of getting to class on time.
Thank you for sharing this experience with us.
Hello @theinkwell.
I really appreciate your comments.
It was an awkward moment but the teacher's reaction was the best. And we were very relieved about that.
Regards ⚘