Flashes of Panic

It’s true that nearly every professor makes a note at the beginning of the semester that people should turn off things like cell phones or other stuff that beeps before they come to class, but it’s also true that it’s tough to remember. (I tend to leave my phone on its “meeting” setting for days at a time, which sometimes leads to me missing calls because I forget to also check the voicemail.)

I’m not sure what the etiquette is when the professor’s phone rings.

I also have to wonder about the second ringing phone. Didn’t they check their setting, compulsively, when the first ring woke the class? And, even if they silenced it quickly, didn’t it occur to them that we’d all be hearing their voice-mail alert soon?

Full disclosure: my turn to have a ringing phone in the classroom was during orientation for all new TAs, while the dean of the graduate school was talking. It was my GA supervisor calling.

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