Observation Exercise

I walk into Lincoln Center room 107 for my Principles of Management class about twenty minutes early and start to take my seat. The first thing I notice as I walk in the room is that it’s cold, as usual, and I’m glad I brought my hoodie. The next thing I take in is my surroundings. The classroom has off-white walls making it easy on the eyes. Two of the walls are adorned with older looking documents displayed in showcases and historical looking pictures hanging in frames. The back wall has a row of windows all the way across, letting in tiny bits of natural light even though the blinds are drawn. The front of the classroom has a chalkboard instead of whiteboard, which results in the occasional spine-tingling screech of chalk on chalkboard. The class has two-tiered seating in an open rectangle shape, my seat is in the back tier at one of the corners directly across from the clock. The desks are wooden on top and have a brownish orange metal barrier in front that covers most of a student’s legs (something that any student that wants to text in class can appreciate). The atmosphere in the classroom is serene, a blessing for any tired college student.

There is only one other student in the classroom sitting silently in the dark, computer out in front of him, headphones in, typing away. Teachers always joke with students, saying that they can turn the lights on, that we’re not forced to sit in the dark, but I always like it better with the lights off, it’s more relaxing. The spell is broken when another student comes in behind me and flips the lights on. I silently take my seat.

The student that walked in behind me sits down, pulls out his computer, and looks over his notes. He puts in his headphones, but his music is loud enough to hear regardless. Another student that I just had in another class slowly walks in, looking down at his phone on his way to his seat. He sits beside the first person I found in the classroom and they make small talk. Another student walks in followed by the teacher of next door’s class. She jokes around with a couple of the students and then leaves, leaving no clear indicator as to why she came in the classroom in the first place.

People are walking by and talking in the hallway and it’s easy to tell that class time is drawing near. Two more people walk in and instantly get on their computers, which seems to be a common theme. After they walk in, I open up my book and try to study for the upcoming quiz. The teacher of my Principles of Management class walks in about ten minutes before class starts and says a quick good morning before walking out again . He returns a couple of minutes later, takes a seat, and starts setting up for class. As more people stream into the classroom the number of conversations starts to pick up.

At one point, one of the students proposes an open note quiz, but the professor quickly assures the class that the quiz will be a breeze. I close my book shortly after hoping that the professor isn’t bluffing.

As the class starts to reach capacity, I notice some people sitting in new spots. With only two open seats left in the classroom, there never seems to be quite enough seats for everybody to sit where they want. There are at least a couple of students that move around the classroom every class period like nomads, never seeming to take the same seat twice in a row. When the class is full, it’s easy to see the diversity in the room. People have a variety of majors, ethnicities (there are quite a few foreign exchange students in the class), and interests.

Class starts and the quiz was just as easy as promised (the only question we had to answer was the name of the class). The person sitting next to me has somebody cover up the question as he took a picture of his score to put on Snapchat, causing a couple of us to laugh.

The teacher slowly takes roll, slightly thrown off by some of the new seating choices made by students. As he wraps up roll taking, the class officially begins.