The saddest thing about this rant is that the people to whom it is directed probably will not understand that it is directed at them. Such is the lot of most inconsiderate people: they fail to recognize themselves in the criticisms of others.

This open letter is directed to those students who are perpetually late for class, perpetually unprepared for class, and who insist on conversing amongst themselves during class.

By your continual exhibition of the above-mentioned behaviors, you are showing a complete and total lack of respect for your instructor.

Our teachers deserve respect. A cursory look at the faculty profiles on the school website reveals that many hold advanced degrees.

These people have invested a great deal of their time and money to learn about subjects that interest them, and their purpose in life is to pass that knowledge on to the next generation. Trust me, they aren’t in it because they plan to retire on the French Riviera.

I suspect that even the most highly degreed member of our faculty is not part of the “one percent,” the rich we are hearing so much about in this election.

When you are late, unprepared, and do not pay attention in class, you are effectively saying “your lifetime of effort means nothing to me.”

This is not the only insulting aspect of your behavior.

When the instructor is forced to spend class time asking you to stop talking, or put away your phone, or even stop napping, that is time that is taken away from what we all paid to learn. You are defrauding your fellow classmates of their education.

If time must be spent going over things already covered because you were on your phone or talking, then time that could be used covering new concepts is taken away. If I am not learning new things, am I not wasting my money?

Perhaps you are not paying for your education out of your own pocket. Maybe you have rich parents, a scholarship or grants. Even if you are taking student loans, you aren’t actually paying right now. But I am! I worked my ass off to get the money to go to school.

I feel I am being cheated when, because you slow the class down, the teacher is then forced to rush through the material. There are only a certain number of class hours to teach what we need to know. These perpetual distractions do not reflect kindly on you.

Those of you who seem to think that class is a social adventure clearly show that your physical age does not equal your calendar age. So, please, grow up at little bit.

Have your personal conversations before or after class. The same goes for your status on social media.

Class time is not personal time and, believe it or not, most of your fellow students are not there to socialize. They are actually there to learn. Please stop interfering.

If you can’t shut your mouth, turn off your phone, or get enough sleep, please stop coming to class and screwing things up for the rest of us