School rumors can fly faster than updates on Facebook accounts.
Ever heard the rumor that if your professor is 15 minutes late you can leave? Well, don’t believe it. This is not a school policy, and in fact many FAU departments haven’t even heard of it.
“I’ve heard about it and always thought it was true,” explains Cassie Shashaty, a freshman social science major. “My teachers have never been more than 15 minutes late, but if they were, I would definitely leave because they can’t expect us to wait around all day. … They are late, and everyone else is on time.”
The UP called five different colleges and the only response we received was: “I’ve never heard of such a policy.” The Office of the Registrar, which organizes the University Catalog, and the Office of the Provost, which organizes university affairs, were the only two offices that could definitively say that the policy “never existed.”
Senior Ryan Smith thinks it’s wrong for students to leave class if a teacher is late.
“It’s an unwritten rule that people follow. I know about it and I think the people who do it are stupid,” says the communications major. “It’s irresponsible to leave after 15 minutes. If someone does that, it’s an excuse for them not to go to class.”
Follow FAU’s advice: If your professor is late to class, the students are expected to stay unless the professor informs them of a class cancellation. Students are still responsible for their absences and work missed if they leave early.
Elizabeth • Dec 19, 2022 at 6:08 pm
If the teacher is 50 minutes late can we leave
Robot • Nov 2, 2022 at 8:19 pm
Uwu women
Cain • Oct 20, 2022 at 9:37 am
I wonder if it is true ?
Answer
It is true I am hame after my teacher was 15 mins late we had to go home
brittany • May 5, 2022 at 10:36 pm
maybe 15 min on the dot is a little fast, but i dont see any reason an entire class full of students should sit around for a full hour. that’s ridiculous. a lot of classes are only 50 minutes…. so at some point (a point that comes well before 50 minutes is up), it would become pretty ridiculous for a teacher to just show up and start having class. and most college professors are reasonably punctual. so if they’re missing over 30% of the class time, then something is pretty obviously wrong. and i dont really feel that they would have the high ground at that point to deliberately penalize those who had left. i would personally be extremely apologetic if i left a room full of students waiting that long. i definitely wouldn’t be thinking of giving a pop quiz or taking graded attendance at that point, trying to punish them for my tardiness.
i never had a professor over 15 min late (although once or twice it was approaching kinda close to that and everyone started discussing the rule).
i did show up for a 15-min appointment to be a participant for a grad students psych research experiment (for extra credit for my psych 101 class), and i waited around for like 45-min. there were like 4 sets of subjects piled up by the time i left. i was wondering if they were watching us and this was really the experiment lol. but then i got an email later that we would get extra credit anyway and the person just forgot or something.
Annamaria • Feb 28, 2022 at 3:06 pm
hahahahaha
none of your beez wax • Dec 16, 2021 at 2:08 pm
5 chicken wing buckets 2 boxes of the dinner buns and 4 containers of your mac n cheese please and thank you
grace • Oct 7, 2022 at 7:24 am
yes mates also i think the teacher should let us wear non uniform in the uk
jc • Oct 8, 2021 at 2:00 pm
My teacher is late 1 hour so what should i do
Kfc • Feb 26, 2021 at 5:41 pm
Alright what would you like for ur order sir?
Haha • Jan 9, 2022 at 9:05 pm
Your mom
YOU'R BOI • Feb 17, 2021 at 2:38 pm
YO BOI!!!!!!!!
YOU'R BOI2 • Feb 17, 2021 at 2:37 pm
I AM INEVIDABUL
YOU'R BOI • Feb 17, 2021 at 2:36 pm
PLZ LET THE KFC ONE GO THRU PLZ
YOU'R BOI • Feb 17, 2021 at 2:35 pm
KFC
john • Feb 16, 2021 at 1:49 pm
burger
olyvia • Jan 29, 2021 at 4:08 pm
my teacher was over an hour late for class, could i leave then?
Tutu'uli pena • Jan 19, 2021 at 12:13 pm
that would be redeculous why would the teacher be 5 min late
imposterajv8 • Jan 14, 2021 at 11:13 am
i think that rule should be very true when i was in collage it happend. (sorry for typose)
le poggers • Jan 7, 2021 at 12:45 pm
honestly i wait 5 min before leaving class because if the teacher isnt there withen 5 min, theres about a 80% there not coming in today
Levi • Dec 17, 2020 at 4:51 pm
By the way it’s my Birthday!
Levi • Dec 17, 2020 at 4:50 pm
I feel it is completely fair. I am in 4th grade and I go to online school, right now my teacher has been almost 20 minutes late I was ready, I had my supplies, I emailed her to see, and she ain’t give a word in what we all saying and we ain’t being notified. I go to Canyon Oaks Elementary School. Hey hey listen Myth or not it’s BS to wait so long and yes my mother taught me that or I heard her say it and asked what it meant.
Bonki • Oct 3, 2022 at 4:00 pm
4th grader knowing what bs means is a bit of an issue..
honk • Dec 1, 2020 at 9:18 am
i believe elementary school kids be aloud to leave if the teacher does not show up in 15-20 minutes because there parents buy them the supplies they need for school and whats the point of that if the teacher does not show up thats like buying somthing your not even going to use and look i have dogs i take care of im wasting my time waiting when i could be walking them there in the cage all day while im at schooldoes that sound fair i could play with them to yet im sitting in class wating for the teacher to show up when i could leave
urlocalrat • Nov 16, 2020 at 2:13 pm
duh, i ain’t waitin’ .
honk honk • Nov 7, 2020 at 4:21 pm
me go bye bye after as soon as it hits 15 minutes
Jack • Oct 31, 2020 at 7:55 pm
Nah just fukin dip lmfao
hello • Sep 23, 2020 at 1:58 pm
No, you can’t actually leave the classroom when the teacher is 15 mins late
hello • Sep 13, 2020 at 11:04 pm
The student is paying. Not professor. Only if it is something important students stay. Simple.
hello • Sep 13, 2020 at 11:02 pm
i am an older person i boomer haahahah
fortnite is good. minecraft sucks its just blocks hahaah
(fortnite sucks)
3t • Sep 2, 2020 at 8:19 pm
STUDENTS LEAVE IF THE TEACHER IS 15 MINUTES LATE AND HAVEN’T CONTACTED THEM OR THE SHOOL FOR A substitute TACHER
3t • Sep 2, 2020 at 8:14 pm
I THink A Student Should Have THe Right to leave if the Teacher is not taking Their Job seriously or that they’re late, But If the teacher says/contacts the students to tell them that the teacher will be late the students shouldn’t leave the premises
LEOOOOOOOOOOOO • Aug 7, 2020 at 8:56 am
It may be unfair that students should wait for the late teacher, but the teacher could’ve been rushing someone to the hospital when they went to get coffee on their luch break or something important happpened and they didnt have enough time or warning to schedule a substitute. Its disrespectful to the teacher if they were very busy and their job depened on that task, but understandable that the kids would want to leave if the teacher was just being lazy and procrastinating.
POOPER • Jun 19, 2020 at 6:50 pm
dis is trash… I WILL LEVE IF I NEED TO!!!!! :V
🙁
Hi I'm Winter • Apr 14, 2020 at 5:27 pm
It needs to be a law for all grades besides elementry nothing against them but there really young
Dude person • Mar 24, 2020 at 4:25 pm
This was …not reaaaally informative because there are still 2 opinions on here and Im not sure which to believe .
I mean yes the rational one is leave but ….schools aren’t always rational .
Oo yeah and dumbass who LITERALLY copy pasted the person directly above him ……burn like the trash you are.
And why would I waste money goin to college when I know I’m gonna have to embrace my inner raccoon and dumpster dive for food anyway.
It’s been real fun watching y’all bicker but Imma head out.
ixxk • Jan 27, 2020 at 12:27 pm
It’s crazy to see the change over the years. It starts off actually relating to the topic, then changes to a highly flawed comparison between a job you are paid to be on time for, and a class that you are paying for, then scroll down to the person right above me who has gone full meme mode. This shit funny as hell.
wocbfjbcnej • Jan 25, 2020 at 4:02 pm
Okay, what the hell. You expect me to be responsible for that the teacher isn’t even there to give out? That is the most BULLSHIT i have ever read in five fucking paragraphs.
bot • Jan 21, 2020 at 7:04 am
i play roblox
Zephyr • Nov 21, 2019 at 12:47 pm
I think this entire topic is beyond stupid. In every case, a student is paying to be at school, whether it be through taxes or direct payment for tuition. If you compare this to the job scenario, you are PAID by your boss to be there. If you do not arrive or are late consistently, you are penalized or fired. In school, you PAY a teacher/professor to show up and teach you. If they are consistently late or absent, then they should lose their job, or be docked their pay for the class. That is the basics of employment. This shouldn’t be such a complex concept for people to understand. Not to mention, it is disrespectful to be late, no matter who you are. If the professor or teacher is not there on time, get to work on class assignments, whether for that class or another. If the teacher is more than a quarter of the class late, they are likely to not have shown up, and if they have not notified you, you should by all rights be free to leave the class, and find somewhere else on campus to work on other classwork. Not to mention, in a large number of schools this is already the case, and if it isn’t, there is some other similar policy relating to this, whether through the school administration or through the teacher themselves.
yjrjrd • Nov 5, 2019 at 10:40 am
I play Minecraft too
Lexy • Oct 5, 2019 at 4:15 pm
Why should a professor be able to be late to a class I’m paying for? In lower school it makes sense because you most likely aren’t paying for it, but in college there are other things you could be doing. Your paying for a class that you already missed 15 minutes of. Even at a job, I’m getting payed for that so I’d stay if my boss was late. But like hell am I staying for a class that I’m paying for when my professor is late.
Hehe • Sep 7, 2019 at 3:51 am
Potato 🥔
Steven • Aug 16, 2019 at 10:10 pm
I usually do 30 minutes, but once that’s up if we haven’t heard anythign at all I feel it’s fair to leave (in college anyway). Profs have many ways to contact the students, if it’s been that long and we haven’t heard anything then im going to assume you are in big trouble and not showing up.
Elen • Aug 6, 2019 at 2:44 am
It should be a rule, if students get punished for being late, so should teachers/ professors. If a student is to be a minute late they would get automatic detention and we have no word in it. If we try to ‘argue’ or ‘fight’ for our right we get into more trouble for apparently being disrespectful and talking back. Some teachers come really late and that wastes our learning time, if they get us in trouble for wasting learning so should they!
Fin • Jul 30, 2019 at 4:57 pm
that is the dumbest thing ever what do you expect a bunch of kids to do if they are all alone in a class and the teacher or professor does not show up cause they definitely wont sit down and be quiet it would a waste of time i think if the teacher is late the kids should be allowed to exit the classroom its the teachers responsibility to show up on time and the kids should not be punished with boredom for the teachers tardiness. there should be some rules of course if kids would be allowed to exit the classroom like not disturbing the other classes i also think that the children should be allowed to join in on another classes class so that they could learn not only responsibility and independence but also give them time to think of their goals and what they really want to learn say if they went to a grade above them they could be more prepared for the next school year and have a better chance than someone who just wasted their time doing nothing because the teacher didnt show up and cause they werent allowed to leave the classroom
I hope schools will think about this and change this time wasting rule.
Jason King • Jul 29, 2019 at 8:20 pm
It’s not a rule, law, or policy. The saying just means after 15 minutes you can notify administration of the teachers absence (because that’s a reasonable amount of time to assume they won’t show up). In high school you legally can’t leave, but by notifying administration you and your class wont be marked absent (which actually impacts your record legally), and administration will figure out what to do with the students. In college, you can leave whenever you want, you’re an adult and if you have something more important to do, then go do it (like a family emergency, career related, etc). In simple terms, if your professor doesn’t show up, just let administration know. If the teacher is a no-show enough times you could possibly sue the school for your money back because at that point you’re not getting the service you paid for.
Lane • Jul 17, 2019 at 9:34 am
I think I would leave class cause if we ain’t in the class on time we get in trouble so why shouldn’t they if everyone left and the teacher was 15 minutes late what would happen to the teacher if everyone wade through there then who would be getting introuble the teacher cause we were on time and they were late I respect teachers only if they do their job.
elijah • Jun 7, 2019 at 4:01 pm
That should be a rule, if the teacher’s not there you should be allowed to.
Ur mum • May 27, 2019 at 10:32 pm
I think this is ridiculous! If i’m paying the teacher and the school to teach me than they should show up. If not then i want my money back. Plus my teachers expect a lot from me during the period so the least that they could do i just show up on time, as that’s the least i expect from them. Honestly, if this were to happen to me i would leave.
DOC BROWN • May 9, 2019 at 3:33 pm
Ryan Smith is an idiot.
Jonathan • May 4, 2019 at 11:38 am
i believe in both sides and i’ll tell you what. when your teacher/professor (we will be using teacher for now on) is late 15 mins in middle school it’ll be almost i possible to just walk out a school. they just don’t let you by today’s standards. also if your teacher doesn’t show up there’s always going to be that one person who goes to the office and lets them know . anyways i’m getting off track. i mostly believe we should just walk off and go home. i’m a freshmen in high school but i believe it’s one class, just because one of your teachers didn’t show up doesn’t mean you should just leave and not attend your others. after all a class is normally 35-45 mins long. and my other side is yes, leave. and this is mostly for the collage folks, you pay to be in school and having your teacher not show up is completely ridiculous therefore you have every right to leave and complain while your at it! you certainly don’t pay do just study. but for the younger people there’s no reason to leave school for that one class, at the end of the day while everyone is waiting everyone is gonna be loud and distractive and cause attention, causing a teacher to come and ask what’s going on. anyways many BOE just wont let youngsters leave. at the end of the day it’s not hard to let a teacher know there’s no one there.
Ander • Apr 11, 2019 at 1:06 pm
For those of you who agree with this clearly don’t understand the problem. We as people as a society should all take time as a serious and valuable thing. So if a teacher or school has the gull to waste our time by making us wait for any reason is saying they don’t really care to teach us. Don’t make us wait ESPECIALLY if they didn’t tell us they will be arriving late. Waiting for a little bit is alright but 15 minutes should be maximum. Another difference is students are not paid to go to school, teachers are. So comparing students to employees is not accurate. TEACHERS are the employees and we are the customers that their job is for. And look I know patience is important ,but accountability is even more so. If you are a teacher don’t waste students time ,and students don’t waste teachers time.
njknj • Mar 12, 2019 at 9:10 am
i play minecraft
Elon Musk • Jan 11, 2019 at 4:09 pm
Students should NOT have the right to leave school of the teacher is 15b minutes late. Why miss school just because of one class? That pretty BS. Its extremely irresponsible to ditch school because of one teacher. Students should have the sense to stay put. The teacher could have had an emergency on short notice. How would day feel if their class was missing all of a sudden?
Caleb Mullican • Jan 10, 2019 at 11:10 am
Kevin Andre’s Daul is wrong. And especially most of you who say you should be expected to stay. The job analogy with school is two different things. You PAY for school to get TAUGHT by the professor. When you go to a job you are expected to work, and when at school if the professor isnt there then hiw are you supposed to learn. It’s not your fault if the teacher is late but it is your fault if you leave work.
NevaGonnaNo • Dec 20, 2018 at 8:08 am
It was pouring down rain and my bus driver was 15 minutes late and I didn’t want to wait in the rain so I didn’t know what to do
anonymoose • Dec 4, 2018 at 8:13 pm
This is nonsense. If it’s a job, you should stay, that’s an exception. But you’re not being paid to study and it’s our valuable time. The students won’t sit around all of the class period and if the teacher doesn’t show within 15 minutes (which is a long time to be late) they should be allowed to leave because it was the teacher’s responsibility.
Smokey and marmalade my little fur babies • Nov 21, 2018 at 2:50 am
Poor James from the odd1’sout
Michael Richardson • Nov 19, 2018 at 12:10 pm
My son never does that. If he did, just imagine how irresponsible he’d be.
unknown person for life • Nov 12, 2018 at 12:25 pm
i think it is true
Sierra • Oct 18, 2018 at 11:41 am
Again, you GET paid to be at work, I PAY for an education. Why stay in class twiddling my thumbs? I have other shit to do than waste my money. Circumstances come up, everyone is human, but if a teacher misses most of the class period, odds are they won’t be there in time to get anything useful across to their students. Now I respect my professors, but they expect a million and one things from me in a class period, sorry that I expect them to be there to teach, just as they expect me to be there to learn. And if they aren’t then I’m leaving. Simple as that
David Turner • Jul 15, 2018 at 7:06 am
At my school if a teacher is 5+ minutes late students can report the issue to the school office. Then people just play games on their phones or draw in notepads.
cheeseface35 • Jul 9, 2018 at 8:57 am
Strawhberrie, you spelled coming “cooming”
I personally think that if a teacher doesn’t show up, just leave and notify the school (oviously if you have a class with a different teacher and or the class is like, 1 hour, don’t storm out.) These are my reasons why:
Private Schools: These types of schools were EASY. Doing the research, you CAN leave but with a set of requirements: 1: Private Schools have more periods but shorter classes. If your class is typically 1 hour and 30 minutes that is long enough to leave. 2: Did the teacher notify you and or the other classmates? If so, you can leave but expect something. 3: Grade. If this is 1st grade, f*ck no! If this is college, then you go girl. Don’t waste your time.
Public Schools: These were actually pretty hard comparing to how easy my research on private schools. If a teacher does not show up after 15 minutes, notify the school and leave (I guess.) I don’t definitely know the answer, which makes me sad. I guess you can leave if you notify the school and you are in a position where you can drive a car (or you have a getaway driver,) sure.
Prep Schools: Same as private in this situation.
Hope this letter brings some new and useful info at school. 7/9/2018
cheeseface35 • Jul 9, 2018 at 8:56 am
Strawhberrie, you spelled coming “cooming”
I personally think that if a teacher doesn’t show up, just leave and notify the school (oviously if you have a class with a different teacher and or the class is like, 1 hour, don’t storm out.) These are my reasons why:
Private Schools: These types of schools were EASY. Doing the research, you CAN leave but with a set of requirements: 1: Private Schools have more periods but shorter classes. If your class is typically 1 hour and 30 minutes that is long enough to leave. 2: Did the teacher notify you and or the other classmates? If so, you can leave but expect something. 3: Grade. If this is 1st grade, f*ck no! If this is college, then you go girl. Don’t waste your time.
Public Schools: These were actually pretty hard comparing to how easy my research on private schools. If a teacher does not show up after 15 minutes, notify the school and leave (I guess.) I don’t definitely know the answer, which makes me sad. I guess you can leave if you notify the school and you are in a position where you can drive a car (or you have a getaway driver,) sure.
Prep Schools: Same as private in this situation.
Hope this letter brings some new and useful info at school.
Seena • May 20, 2018 at 4:42 pm
It is mean to call someone stipid if they believe a with like RELLY?
Clair • May 15, 2018 at 8:04 am
I live in the UK and in schools there’s no such rule, it wouldn’t work. In college however it’s a different matter and I know there are some colleges that follow the 15 minute rule I dunno if that’s for them all. It’s the lecturers responsibility to tell their students if they are going to be that late, I can’t blame a student leaving when they could do something productive instead of waiting for their lecturer my colleague had a go at a new time table where there was couple hour long lessons and a 2 hour long lesson.
bob • May 7, 2018 at 2:51 pm
k
SetStudentRights • Apr 23, 2018 at 5:36 am
In my country (Central Asia), if a student is late for even 1 minute, they are marked as a now show. And after a while, wheter that late student comes in the class telling his/her excuses, they are not listened, and ordered to leave the class!!! However, if a teacher is late for 15 mintues or more, they are not punished or ordered to leave the class!!! They just simply mark the whole class (if there is no presence of students) as now show!!! And they just report to “heads” that this class has had a very bad attitude to the subject and disrespect for the teacher!!! But that is dishonest, actually!!! Why are teachers not treated for their irresponsibility for their job?!!! We need legacy to set the fair!!!
Antti Hujanen • Apr 13, 2018 at 3:02 pm
My teacher was 30 mins late so i vent like F*** it. I’m leaving. When i was at the door the teacher came in. I sill left.
yes • Apr 12, 2018 at 11:54 pm
personally I believe that people should be able to leave but i also believe that you shouldn’t just do whatever you please but go to a class of the same subject that has a lower amount of people i think this because again your boss will pay you less if your late but if the boss is late you get ready in advance but with teachers you cant just stay ready for 10-7 minutes but you have to do somthing
Disgruntled College Student • Apr 11, 2018 at 10:21 am
My teacher threatened to give us all zeros if we left
Not A Normie • Apr 4, 2018 at 1:44 pm
Its a legal thing. YOU ARE legally allowed to leave.
Weirdo • Apr 3, 2018 at 11:08 pm
Honestly, why should students have to deal with their teacher being late? I believe this rule should be a thing, but if a teacher shows up, they need to deal with being absent.
starstriker • Mar 31, 2018 at 9:45 pm
To be honest i think that we should be able to leave because were paying them to teach us not to show up late so what I think is if theres a policy saying that you can leave if the teacher doesn’t show up in fifteen mins then you should leave your paying them to teach you and quit with the boss comparison bull crap the boss is paying you your paying the college or the tutor
Aussie • Mar 31, 2018 at 5:21 pm
You guys are all lost and have something wrong with you. If your teacher us late you suck it up and read a book or catch up on other studies… your going to be shocked when you enter the real world. I feel sorry for most Americans……
Meghan • Mar 8, 2018 at 10:22 am
I think that we should be able to leave because if a teacher is late the students are not learning anything by standing in a hallway. So the teachers aren’t doing their job then we should be able to leave. If we are late we get marked absent or marked tardy, so the teachers don’t get anything. We should be able to leave because we could be going to another class that we are struggling in but at my high school we are told no matter how late our teacher is we have to wait in the hallway.
Angry College Student • Mar 1, 2018 at 8:07 am
I think college itself is total BS and you should quit it doesnt matter if its 15 minutes or 1 minute just leAve thank s.
b • Feb 1, 2018 at 12:25 pm
I just did leave after 20 min of no teacher. What’s that look? I did nothing wrong.
B • Jan 26, 2018 at 4:07 pm
I disagree…
Nicola • Jan 23, 2018 at 5:31 am
At my high school the 15-minute-rule was understood by everyone. Including teachers. I had one teacher forget to unlock the door on the classroom he was in. After knocking several times, we left. He never looked up. I agree with others here, that a penalty for tardiness should go both ways. And a manager who deliberately walks in very late everyday, with a smug look, may soon find themselves without a workforce.
Kevin • Jan 22, 2018 at 4:38 pm
I think if actual teachers say it themselves we should be allowed to go home after 15 minutes.
We had outdoors school one Friday and it was freezing cold outside. We waited for 20 minutes before we started to go home we called the principal twice and after an eventual 45 minutes someone finally came. I was dead sick that weekend. Waste of time and a perfectly good weekend i could’ve spend with friends.
Rhys • Jan 8, 2018 at 6:50 pm
I just dont turn up at all.. non of this 15mins bs
Melissa • Dec 21, 2017 at 1:34 am
I had a professor who was constantly late for class. He would show up late nearly everyday and many times he would be more than 15 minutes late. Many of my classmates would leave class if he was more than 15 minutes late. When the professor did come strolling in, about half of the students had already left after the 15 minutes, so he was unable to teach a lesson that half of the class was not there to hear. Although it was annoying that I was paying for a class that was not being taught I think that the students who left had the right to do so. It was not their fault that class wasn’t being taught, it was the disrespectful professor who was late and thought that his time was more valuable than that of his students. I think that it is a good rule actually, students shouldn’t be expected to wait longer than the 15 minutes they already had to wait. They shouldn’t be expected to wait the entire length of the class to see if the professor is going to show up. A students time is just as valuable as a professors.
At the end of the semester I told the administration that many of our classes were cancelled due to the tardiness of the professor and I told them that I didn’t think that it was right for me to have to pay for that class. A college is supposed to cater to the students; the students are the customers and they need to have a service that is worth paying for. If I hired a landscaper to mow my lawn and they didn’t do a good job then I would withhold the payment. It should be the same for colleges. I had to fight and make my case to several people all the way to the president of the school and let him know that my time was wasted and that I wanted a refund for that class. Finally I got a refund and the professor was fired.
Janet • Dec 1, 2017 at 9:43 pm
It might be a rule in some colleges, but some might not. In my opinion, however, I think it is perfectly okay for students to leave if the professor is more than 15 minutes late. Comparing work to college is not a good example because they are very different situations. It is because you are paying them for the education, they are not paying you to learn. If you were to compare the two, it would be a reason it should be a rule. If you were the owner of a restaurant, if an employee was late or was absent, they would not get a full days pay. If a professor is late or absent, they should apologize to the students as soon as they next see them. If the students are absent from class if and when the professor is more than 15 minutes late, they should email the absent students the assignments that they have missed for a chance to get the most out of their money. It would be unfair if they marked the students absent since it would be like marking your boss absent, and they paid their money to get there education and most likely have better things to do than wait around for a late or absent professor.
Naoise corrigan • Nov 4, 2017 at 9:35 am
As a a student in secondary school (high school) in Ireland most of us have definitely heard of this rule, not exactly from our teachers but from other teachers we had as substitutes. A lot of the time if a teacher isn’t in we will get a substitute teacher and in thag class we revise other subjects or do our homework given from other classes or simply read a book. Our school policy is, if a teacher is 15 minutes late one person from the class should go down to the main office and find find out where he/she is. I don’t disagree with leaving class but I also don’t agree with it. I’m sure in most colleges/schools you should have plenty of work to catch up on or study for other things. Leaving the school all together is ridiculous and we would definitely get punished. Walking around the school disturbs other classes. I’m sure if people are gonna leave the school the most they are going to be doing in the time left of that class is chatting to friends, so why can’t you chat to your friends in the classroom. Teachers have been late on various occasions for me and in all honesty we as students were quite happy for them not to show up. Really when u have 9 classes a day I’m sure u wouldn’t care to have 8.
person • Nov 2, 2017 at 10:43 am
this is a violation of student rights we are expected to be on time and if we arent we are pretty severely punished even if we are ten seconds late so if a teacher isnt there within fifthteen min we are still expected to wait? if we are late that badly we get an absence for the day and are still expected classes so a teacher can just not show up and as soon as we leave we are in trouble?
someone should make a petition…
Protestor • Oct 15, 2017 at 3:37 pm
Ok it is not irresponsible for the students to leave if the teacher is the one who is being irresponsibly late. Someone related it to a job and you shouldn’t be late if the boss is late, but this is a whole other matter. If you are in college you pay for those classes and you expect to get what you paid for, in other words the teachers actually being there on time!! The difference between a boss being late and a teacher being late is this, whether the boss is late or not you should stay cause you get paid! In a class you shouldn’t have to stay because you are not paying them so you can sit in a classroom and do nothing.
Sierra • Jul 24, 2017 at 12:31 pm
I really thought this was a rule, considering it was one of my professors who informed me of it in the first place. Sure if you have work to do, you could sit there and work on it and wait to see if they show up. But 9 times out of 10 you don’t have work because the professor isn’t there to assign it. If your boss/manager shows up late, they usually call the store/business and let them know. At my job, we have to have the managers card to clock in, therefore if he/she is not there on time, we cannot clock in and work on time. It is not the same situation with work and classes. I get paid to work, so that’s less money for me if I don’t stay, oh well. But I if a professor is late, I’m actually paying for them to waste my time and let me sit there doing nothing. 2 years in college and only twice has the teacher actually shown up when we left early. All the other times, they never showed up and just apologized at the next class
Joe • Jul 14, 2017 at 3:50 pm
It’s a fair rule. Students are paying for the teacher’s time and documentation that they achieved minimal competency in a certain subject area, and it’s their responsibility to show up when scheduled.
Students have multiple responsibilities and things to worry about, like other classes and part-time (or even full time) jobs. If the teacher shows up late and keeps students over the allotted time, that cuts into the students time allocated to other tasks.
Slossy • May 16, 2017 at 11:28 am
I feel that if a teacher has been more that 15 minutes they probably won’t show up. If they are late, it’s their fault! Children should be free to walk around the school as long as they don’t leave school grounds.
Henry • Apr 27, 2017 at 10:01 am
All this quarrelling is hilarious because teachers at Palm Beach State College (located inside FAU’s main campus, mind you) acknowledge the responsibility to be on time. If they’re fifteen minutes or more late, the students can leave, and the school doesn’t expect the teacher to hold a class. In short, they mandate the same exact rule this article mocks.
The fact that enforcement of this rule is on a campus within FAU speaks to the quality of this journalism. It’s a shame this oversight was made and that this paper’s scope is so narrow. As a former PBSC student and current student of FAU, I know many people like myself who could have very easily suggested that this rule isn’t a student ‘myth’ and that it exists just a short walk away on campus. I understand that the two schools are not the same, but to label a rule a myth is to suggest its long-standing invalidity, and implies we students are simple-minded sheep.
Speed • Mar 9, 2017 at 10:11 am
Lol, this isn’t a myth where I live here in South Carolina . This rule was enforced in my middle and high school. It’s even in the policy/rules at the college I am currently attending . Funny enough, today, the substitute who was supposed to take place for my theatre teacher didn’t show up. So as soon as that 15 min mark hit , we all left .
PJ • Feb 10, 2017 at 4:35 am
The comparison with the boss is ridiculous – a boss pays YOU, but YOU pay the tutor (via the university).
Joseph Thao • Dec 6, 2016 at 11:51 am
I am in high school, and obviously I agree to both sides. Both viewpoints have a reason to as why students should leave or don’t. Personally I believe that students shouldn’t be treated less than a teacher when this happens, especially from the “Up”. The point made with the boss and manager example was great, but that has a different relationship towards a student and a teacher. That example just claims the link between “lower” and “higher” figures. As a highschool student, I do not like the thought of paying for a class that has lost 15 minutes or more for an unnoticed tardy from a professor. Shouldn’t the school ups give it more thought to this? Some teachers may use the “advice” for their own self to mess with the fellow students. Although teachers will most likely not (assuming they won’t), more thought should be given to this matter. Simply saying that students “use” this as an excuse to leave class is nothing but a mere opinion.
Look at it from this angle: every student have a different life that have their own struggles already, and to be wasting time, money, and knowledgeable chances because of the late person. What is the purpose and meaning of a teacher? I believe it is to teach and prepare the students for the future.
Opinion from a fellow highschool student.
James Scott • Nov 22, 2016 at 8:19 am
This isn’t actually a made up rule. Many schools enforce this with their students, but if the teacher notifies the students of being late, then the students must wait. If the teacher or professor is later than fifteen minutes, as in they are not present in the building or in the room, the students may leave, it is up to the students to leave and notify the school administrator that the teacher was late. If the teacher shows up later during the class period, the students who left will not be excused (obviously) but it will be on the teacher to give them their missing work and tell them why they were late that day.
Erica • Nov 10, 2016 at 4:45 pm
My professor was 30mins late to class today. no text, no email. half of the class left. One of my classmates told me the substitute came in 35 mins after we left.
Camden kryder-fontnote • Nov 10, 2016 at 12:35 pm
I’m am 13 in 8th grade my computer apps teacher Stefine kerns will leave the class or not be there at all it is extremely annoying to not make a grade. She doesn’t enter in grades till the week before report cards are sent out before that i get yelled at bout a 45 in her class till it is brought back up to a 85 or a 90 when she does enter it in. i am tired of being yelled at by the teacher for not having papers that she was sapost to hand out
but guess what She wasn’t there to administer the assignment or test she is completely not responsible at all she needs to be fired .
From
– Camden kryder at bay side intermediate
Skyler simonson • Mar 7, 2016 at 10:39 am
But what if our in junior high school. I go to West Point junior high in UT are the rules the same in middle school
Conner mainly • Feb 23, 2016 at 3:57 pm
Bullshit
granny56 • Oct 25, 2015 at 12:48 am
Something needs to be done regarding this matter because, in every professor’s syllabus they state if a student is more than 15 minutes late they already are marked as a no show whether they stay for the remainder of class and do the assignments or not. So why no penalty on the instructor? Respect goes both ways.
Strawhberrie • Jun 5, 2015 at 8:30 am
Yeah, but why is it not a rule? The teacher is the one being irresponsible and not cooming to the class for fifteen minutes. My teacher literally stands out if the classroom for like about fifteen minutes each day and talks to other teachers.
Sumi Kitamura • Oct 13, 2015 at 3:04 am
Doesn’t matter, if your manager/boss is 15 minutes late to work, doesn’t give you the excuse to leave work in 15 minutes. You still have to stay and do your job as expected. Maybe try to call your manager/boss. But that’s the responsibility on your part. Just because someone else is irresponsible doesn’t give you the right to be as well. Because that is your own screw up. The teatcher never made you screw up, it was you and you only.
It’s like if someone steals from you. The only solution you can think of is to steal something from them. Well, woops there was a security camera. Now they have the item back, you’re in jail, they still have the item they stole from you, and they’re perfectly innocent and your sitting in jail with charges.
So it’s best to not do the same thing to someone that they do to you, and it’s a good thing to start learning this lesson now.
All you can do is try to report it to your princable or maybe try to have a talk with him on why all the teachers stand in the halls for 15 or so minutes before getting to class. Maybe he’s got the reason why.
But there ARE some classes that has this policy, but some don’t. Doesn’t hurt to find out.
Kevin Andres Daul • Nov 18, 2015 at 7:15 pm
Difference is, I’m not being paid to study, at least not yet, I’ll be paid in my job, not at school, so most students have this mentality
adelaide • Jan 25, 2016 at 8:49 pm
I think that if your teacher is late to class it is irresponsible of the students to leave but the teacher should be o time so it is equally irresponsible for them to be late so I am fifty fifty on what I think.
Jonathan Gonzales • Apr 28, 2014 at 4:41 pm
I feel if the teacher is going to be later that it is the TEACHERS RESPONSIBILITY to do everything in their power to let the students know. There’s a million and one ways to contact people to let them know something. Whether its the school site, Facebook, text messages or even a phone call. If my teacher is late and I got no notification, I’m leaving. Simple as that. I have other things to do to.
Audrey Seningen • Oct 17, 2011 at 9:06 pm
How ridiculous! So students should be expected to stay and do nothing when a teacher is late? Where is the responsibility on the teacher’s side? As college students, we PAY for classes. I understand things happen, but a teacher who is routinely late and expects students to stay on their valuable time needs to be held accountable for his/her unprofessionalism. Why should we pay these ridiculous tuition costs if the professors are not going to take the students seriously?