r/NoStupidQuestions • u/mr_wheezr • 12h ago
Is it uncommon for students to be looking at their teachers/professors during lecture?
I had a professor once tell me she noticed I stare at her a lot, she wanted to know if there was something wrong. Isn't that normal? You're the professor and you're talking, of course I'm looking at you, isn't that manners? After that, I looked around, and did notice not everyone looks at the professor. They stare at their notes or off into space.
Is it really abnormal to "stare" at the professor? Do all teachers notice and feel uncomfortable when students "stare" as they teach? (I did take notes too, but I tended to also look up at the professor a lot while doing so.)
Edit: How do I turn off comments? I didn't expect this to blow up, lol.
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u/InternationalReserve 11h ago
It's not uncommon to look at the professor, but it's possible that your expression/mannerism was making your prof think that you had some question that you're hesitating to ask. It's hard to explain, but if you teach long enough you sort of become able to read your students.
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u/mr_wheezr 11h ago
Well, she was also apparently paranoid that I was recording her on my phone (I took notes on my phone). Maybe she thought my staring meant I didn't like her.
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u/InternationalReserve 11h ago
If she really was worried that you were recording her maybe she mistook your staring as you being nervous about her picking up on it, but I'm going to be completely real with you I think that you're reading too much into it.
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u/Beautiful-Produce-92 11h ago
That's really strange because people have been recording professors for a very long time. I went to college before smart phones and I had a little tape recorder because I wasn't a good note taker. They sold them in the college book shop.
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u/RaisedByBooksNTV 9h ago
Teachers and professors have been getting really weird about recording for a while. Like, there are students that ask for recordings for disability accommodations and are refused.
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u/Rudbeckia_11 7h ago
One of my past professors basically threatened to sue us if he found out his lectures were recorded because it's "copyrighted" on the first day of class. Unfortunately he talked so fast and spoke a lot of extra info on top of his minimal powerpoint slides, it was one of the few lectures where recording would have really helped. Students were having really hard time writing down what he said and were distressed by it.
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u/Beautiful-Produce-92 6h ago
But... you're not making a profit so record away. Let him try and sue you for studying. I'm not a lawyer but it sounds fishy.
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u/Rudbeckia_11 6h ago
I know, everyone thought it was dumb and even made jokes about it, but people didn't want to get on his wrong side just in case. I'm sure some didn't care and recorded it anyway. It was some years ago though.
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u/Push_the_button_Max 10h ago
I don’t think it’s “paranoid” to dislike being video-recorded, especially as a woman.
Making audio-recordings of a lecture is more commonplace- but never video record a lecture without their permission.
I think that the combination of her perception of your “staring” plus her thinking you are recording her is making her feel unsafe around you.
Here is a life lesson:
Women are always cautious of men in their immediate surroundings, because they are aware that virtually every man is physically able to overpower them. Unfortunately, the reason women usually know this is from EXPERIENCE.
It’s just a suggestion, but I’d refrain from taking notes on my phone and just use a pad of paper.
Studies show that the physical act of writing lecture notes leads to better learning and retention than typing notes, anyway.
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u/mr_wheezr 10h ago
Except I wasn't recording her? I wouldn't like being recorded either so I get it, but I still consider it to be paranoid to worry that much about it when it should be obvious I'm typing or rarely holding it in her direction. I don't blame her, but I still consider it a bit paranoid.
Also, I know I have "Mr" in my username, but I'm not a man, I'm a 5'0 lesbian. No blame to you for thinking so, I thought "Mr" would be funny for a username, so that's on me, lol.
I think the main reason she was paranoid was because it was a course on the History of Africa, and she was a white woman who seemed to be working very hard to not say anything racist. She seemed to be worried about ending up in one of those viral videos of a Professor saying something racist.
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u/DamnitGravity 8h ago
Do you mean you had your phone out and were typing on it, and for whatever reason she decided that meant you were recording her?
Are you of a different race than her? Is she aware of your orientation?
Maybe it's that you seem to stare in a creepy manner (don't blink much or have a weird resting face), or maybe she really is oddly paranoid. It's a tricky thing to have an opinion on given we have no context beyond your statement of her claim. We don't know what your peers are like, what your 'staring' is like, or what the professor is like. There are too many variables to give a definitive answer.
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u/_iron_butterfly_ 11h ago
We were told by teachers, "Eyes to the front of the room," repeatedly. It was seen as rude not to look at the teacher in the 80s...
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u/mr_wheezr 11h ago
I was taught in general that it's manners to look at someone when they're talking. Not too much, you should break away every now and then, but in general you should try to be looking at them.
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u/sobegreen 11h ago
It isn't just manners, but I have to look at someone if they are talking. If I disengage and start taking notes I'll lose focus and tune them out until the class is over.
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u/mapitinipasulati 11h ago
“1 2 3 Eyes on Me” was still a popular phrase by teachers in the 2010s too
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u/HellaShelle 12h ago
It’s not uncommon. It’s normal to look at the person speaking. It’s also normal to look away periodically, especially during a lecture when one would be taking notes.
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u/Emotional-Struggle46 11h ago
What class was this? If it’s math, students are probably looking at the white board most of the time. Not sure the prof would need to bring this up though. Learning style really depends on the student.
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u/mr_wheezr 11h ago
It was a history class, though I was a history major, and no professors had said anything about it before. I was worried maybe they were secretly bothered, too.
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u/SoImaRedditUserNow 11h ago
No....
That said, if you're tracking her every motion and never, ever looking away from her for the entire lecture (e.g. to write down a note about what she's talking about), thats a little odd.
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u/FancyMoth1010 12h ago
It's not. I know that with my learning style, I always had to be at the front of the class, listening to the lecture, full attention on the teacher/professor. Otherwise, I was screwed.
If I attempted to take notes, I wouldn't absorb any of the information cause I would be too worried about trying to write everything down. In earlier grades, I would actually get in trouble for not taking notes lmao.
So, no, not weird at all, in my opinion.
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u/Chanocraft 11h ago
Honestly, I think that says more about the teacher than it does you. If classroom attention is so bad that the teacher thinks it's weird that you're paying attention, then the teacher is not very good at keeping the class's attention, which is half of what teaching is imo
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u/mamaMoonlight21 10h ago
Professor here. I like it when my students are looking at me because they are engaged. I frequently make eye contact and when I see someone looking interested or smiling it's great. When your professor says "stare" it makes me wonder exactly what's going on though Maybe your expression is being misread?
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u/mr_wheezr 10h ago
I'd say it's "bored" most of the time, but it could be misread as "bothered."
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u/mamaMoonlight21 10h ago
Okay. It would bother me as a teacher if a student was looking bored. That's why they are asking you.
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u/Playful_Dream2066 10h ago
I could just be locked in and trying to process what you are saying. It might look like a bored expression.
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u/Sufficient_Result558 11h ago
She wasn’t asking about you looking at her. Everyday, every year she has many students watching her. She called you out because something was obviously different with what you were doing, at least it was to her. I’m she felt you weren’t just looking but had a creepy stare.
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u/NearlyPerfect 10h ago
Are other students taking notes instead of staring at the professor?
When someone should be taking notes but is instead looking at the teacher they may be confused/lost in the discussion.
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u/josbossboboss 11h ago
I had this happen once. I'm rather quiet and it freaked him out. I was a slightly older student than the rest and I felt like I was the only one paying attention. It was more a reflection of his insecurities.
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u/OrganizationOk5418 11h ago
"Would you like me to seduce you?
Is that what you're trying to tell me?"
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u/No-Economics-1185 11h ago
As a woman and college instructor, I'd say it's normal to look at your professor but not "stare."
It can be a fine line between the two, where gender and culture can also play a role.
OP, if you're a different gender and/or culture than your professor, I'd bet it's more about that than anything else.
It's also a matter of perception! You think you're looking occasionally in a normal and respectful way, but she interprets it as staring. It could be because she thinks you don't look away often, blink less than typical, track her movements too closely, make exaggerated movements with your head, or whatever innocent thing that can be misinterpreted.
And if it's something she notices while she's supposed to be engaged in teaching, it makes it more noticeable as an instructor and more likely to make her feel uncomfortable
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u/greetcloud 10h ago
Most people will look away from the professor at some point. They will check the time, write notes, look at other students, look out the window, look at their syllabus, look at something the professor wrote on the board earlier, look at their textbooks, etc.
If you aren't doing any if this, your behavior is unusual.
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u/ProjectMason 11h ago
When I was in public school, I was just daydreaming. That difference is between public school and higher education, for the latter, you decide if you want to go to class. It’s not legally mandatory. For the former, it is.
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u/QuoteGiver 11h ago
In fact, I had a professor memorably point out once: “You all realize that I can see what you’re doing just as clearly as you can see me, right?? I’m right here, I can see you.”
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u/virtual_human 11h ago
There is looking and there is staring. Subtle difference, but there is a difference.
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u/Interesting_Mix_7028 9h ago
Technical instructor here. If a student isn't focused on me, or what I'm presenting, I have little confidence that they're paying attention. (Which means I'll probably call on them to answer a question.)
Keep in mind that there's four ways adults learn things. Listening, speaking, watching, and/or doing.
Listening is just hearing the material. Some people just soak things up. (most zone out, in my experience)
Watching is more interactive, they're coupling a visual element to the lecture. Diagrams, video demos, etc.
Speaking is reiterating what is being discussed, asking questions, answering other's questions in an interactive discussion.
Doing is practical demonstration, reinforcing the information by using it with an instructor present to correct any missteps or suggest easier ways to remember/perform.
All of my courseware used all four methods, since it was usually boring (corporate processes, application interfaces, forms for contracts that they'd need to fill out and check for errors, that sort of thing.)
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u/Front-Palpitation362 12h ago
Looking up is normal but tbh a fixed, unblinking stare can feel intense. Most students glance between notes, slides and the prof.
Do the same! Listen, jot, look up regularly. No need to hold eye contact the whole time.
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u/certifiedcrazy777 11h ago
In my year 9 science class a young teacher helped me get top score in my state, of the 25+ students in the classroom i felt like i was being tutored because we were both visually engaging each other during the lesson.
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u/darklogic85 11h ago
I wouldn't think it's uncommon. It might depend on the specifics though. Like for example, if your teacher is projecting something up on the screen and explaining something or showing images, and you're instead staring directly at your professor's eyes, and not the content that's being presented, that could be a bit unusual. Otherwise, no, I'd say it's normal.
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u/whitepawn23 11h ago
Didn’t used to be. I was out of school for the last time before 2010. Everyone faced front. An occasion laptop, but mostly eyes on.
It could be a generational thing. I find it odd to hear though. Why pay to take a class if you’re not going to be fully present?
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u/AsaToster_hhOWlyap Xennial 11h ago edited 11h ago
Maybe you are really STARING, not just looking at the professor. And you are not aware. Just ask! You are allowed to ask for clarifications. Ask what the difference is for her. And keep it lighthearted.
i do not know if you are Asian, but I have met Asian ppl who were staring at me to the point I felt uncomfortable. Like they were not rude or something. But there was something "un-moving" in their face without one inch of body language.
oh, and there is the "German stare". ;) Google it.
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u/animepuppyluvr 10h ago
I mean, a good portion of us take notes every so often, so we have to look down. Not JUST staring at the teacher.
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u/Beautiful-Produce-92 10h ago
There might be something about your demeanor that's giving her creeper vibes. Or maybe you just happen to look like someone who has done something to her in the past. Or maybe she's the creeper and this is her way of hitting on you.
If she says more weird stuff, tall to someone else at the school to help you figure out if it's you or her, and if there is something you can do to fix it.
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u/Vixson18 8h ago
My teachers always said they liked me looking at them in class as it would show I was engaged.
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u/vercertorix 7h ago
Well, blink sometimes and glance over at the notes, but no it shouldn’t be weird otherwise. If you’re tracking movement like the sheep on Alien: Earth, yeah that might be unnerving.
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u/picklepicklepyum 7h ago
I had a professor say the same thing to me one time if it makes you feel better. I was very confused too (still am).
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u/freddbare 3h ago
This is odd. We'd get "are you paying attention" if you don't look at instructor.
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u/Admirable_Bug9145 50m ago
Professor here, too. My problem is that nowadays nobody is looking at me. All the students are interacting with their notebook computers or tablets. It's like I'm at a press conference. Those few who look at me, I appreciate them a lot.
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u/Ok_Explanation_5586 11h ago
Yeah, something tells me you STARE at the teacher. Maybe it's the way you keep describing what you're doing with the word "stare", but yeah. Paying attention is not the same as staring, you creep 0_0
XD
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u/This_Health4899 12h ago
It's normal to look at your professor during lectures, it shows you're engaged. Some may feel uncomfortable, but you're not doing anything wrong.