h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

One of the sub breeds of student ahs been left out from all this - the 'Mature Student'. Now I don't mean this in the oxymoron sence, as we all know that no student aged between 18-23 would ever behave maturely.

No the Mature student is aged between 26-106, often in a part time job, or taken a year off from some management type career. They dress conservatively, and take their studies very seriously (ie compleate opposite from a 'normal' student).

The Mature Students can be found easily in a lecture hall: always on time (if not early and already hassling the lecturer about the readings), they coagulate at the very front of the hall on the front row all 'pens'a'ready' and paper laid out squarely on the desk. Throughout the lecture they will pay attention, take furious notes (often with multi coloured pens) and hang on the lecturers every word.

As the lecture ends they'll all rush up to the lecturer to ask more questions, whilst the rest of the 'normal students' slowly wake up, and crawl off to the pub.

There would appear to be more than one breed of Mature Student - the ones I knew were usually balding, wore big (yet thin and dark coloured) woolen jumpers, and got verrryyyy pissed in the unions because: 1) They could, and 2) On account of the tremendous amount of young, equally drunk, Felis Student.

So not entirely dedicated to their (university) studies - that was more the province of the Foreign Student.

I have a different experience withthe so-called Mature Student. Myself belonging very much to the Common Student described in the Entry (with the exception that I am in fact only Part-time Student) I have been forced to listen to the Mature Students repport (or is that rapport?) with my poor philosophy-professor. It's not her (MS) activity in class that bugs me, nor her ability to spend five minutes answering a yes/no question. No, what gets to me, is her insisting on using strange, foreign words and phrases, forming sentences which more or less rapes the language, all the while completely ignores that the knowledge she is seeking is right in front of her, and the references she is using has nothing to do with anything whatsoever!

Pardon my ranting, I'll leave now.