Adult learning

[themonsteratemyspacebar]

Here goes my 1st AIBU after a couple of years!

I am currently studying a foundation degree. In this setting on evening and one full day is the set up to go to the lectures.
In each of the lectures there are 5/30 people who constantly interrupt the tutor to give their opinions and their life stories. Fair enough but it is getting completely ridiculous. Literally every 4/5 sentances through they butt in with the tutor.
I can accept questions as its all new to all of us. The interruptors are always the older learners who love the sound of their own voice.

Now the problem is that the tutors look like they enjoy this and i think they are seen as actively contributing. But thats not the case. And you can see everyone else in the group get bored and agitated, with blank looks on their face. (Me included)

At this point i feel like i can do more assigments and essays on their life stories than what we actually need to do even the tutor at the last lecture said she hadn't covered half of what she needed to, thanks to the interruptions.

Now is it just me or is that completely unfair on everyone, due to these few people who love the sound of their own voices? We are paying to be there and have chosen to go back into education and they seem to be ruining it for alot of people. I don't look forward to going anymore

So AIBU in thinking this is out of order? Or is it their prerogative to say what they want and when they want, due to their lofe experiences and opinions?

What should i do?

Ask the tutor at the beginning to say to the group to keep questions until after the class. Am also in adult education and get annoyed by those who like to show off their irrelevant knowledge.

The only problem i see with that enb is that they aren't questions, they are just their own experiences and views and the tutor seems to like that, if that makes sense?
I was thinking of writing an email but didn't know what would be thought of that?

I think the best thing is to talk to your tutor, quietly, after class - let them know how much you appreciate their lectures, how wonderful the course is, etc. etc. etc. but that you feel that you're losing out a bit because of the constant interruptions. And ask if it's possible to confine questions to certain time periods, which will limit their duration (e.g. the 10 minutes before a break, the 10 minutes at the end).

I've taught in adult education, and you do get groups of people who use it as a social event, and groups who want the qualification. It is not at all easy to match their different needs at times, particularly when you have a faculty breathing down your neck and telling you that you have to get subscribers to a course for it to run! I also think some subjects are more prone to it -I once had a nightmare with a Jane Austen course, which a large group had taken just so they could talk about how much they LOVED Elizabeth Bennett - they got very disappointed when they realised I expected them to engage critically with the more serious ideas in the books if they wanted a degree!

As a tutor I sympathise with you as I too have students like these however, here's what I do to get the subject back on track, and you can easily do it too:

Basically you take control/ownership of the conversation, then accept 'responsibility' for going 'off topic', then direct it back to the tutor.

Simple script for you here:

Join in to whatever the conversation is then, after a few seconds or so say ' oh, I'm so sorry, I'm taking the conversation off the subject matter here, apologies everyone. Now where were we tutor ?

Works everytime!

And do it EVERYTIME these people go off the subject - they'll soon get the hint.

Wow thank you for your suggestions. They are really helpful. Really appreciated.
I am here now so will put shimmerings suggestion into practice!
My main worry with having a word with the tutor was if they took offense to it, like maybe seeing it as a dig at them that they can't control the situation?
Would you be offended?

monster
I agree with struggling re her comment of you do get groups of people who use it as a social event, and groups who want the qualification . So it's not as important to some as it is to others.

I personally wouldn't take offense if you spoke to me about it, but I cannot comment for others.

If you use the 'script' enough and then people possibly made a comment about what YOU were doing, that would give you a good opportunity to explain that as much as you'd like to hear about their experiences, you'd prefer to hear them out of the class, for as is often said, 'so much to do, so little time....or words to that effect!

You ask - Or is it their prerogative to say what they want and when they want, due to their life experiences and opinions ?

No it isn't when they're doing it in class time UNLESS it's relevant to the course, and benefits all.

You have paid precious money for this course as a building block towards your future, don't let these people waste it, for the longer they get away with it, the more they will expect to get away with it.

Good luck. Let us know how it goes.