In this reading the author analyzes students who in their manners and actions act as if they have no care in the world and instill into themselves a slob culture. Naturally this type of attitude cannot conform with accepted educational practise and the student suffers to convey an interest in studies and drifts away into oblivion.
However not all students who convey this image are actually slobs. There are many who are highly intelligent and interested in academic achievement yet they are carefree and have a relaxed attitude to life demonstrating that they are slightly detached from reality. This does not mean that they cannot get high grades as more often than not it is the level of intelligence which matters and if this is high then there does not appear to be any problem.
You may have a slob culture at university where students take up certain practices which are undesirable but which also convey their sense of abandonment and authority in the real world. Technology is also playing a much bigger role today and students who spend hours ticking at their device and sending messages and emails are deemed to be slobs but this is not always the case.
Efforts should be made to attempt to understand such students who more often than not, retract into themselves and fail to communicate their needs or aspirations to the lecturer. Certainly their peers may believe that they have a problem but clarity is important in such cases which are obviously quite tough to handle.
Strategies for living with slobs
Obviously students who are really slobs will have a hard time convincing their fellow peers that they aren’t so. Hippes and junkies may infiltrate the dormitory and the situation can get quite nasty if personality cultures clash accordingly. Some universities such as those in Wisconsin were recently in the news as a slob culture is rather prevalent on campus. But are the students there really slobs, one asks? Is it because they are fat and unkempt? Or is it because we perceive students with a certain level on antipathy and do not like what we see. All these questions are tackled admirably well in this reading which is replete with anecdotes and descriptive references which are also very interesting and rather direct.
One has to accept that student life is not at all easy and is perhaps a stressful and very intense experience. Students react in different ways to such stress, some may tend to overeat, others may actually begin to dress less well while others still may become introvert and without much communication. These cannot be called slobs either.
The bottom line is that first impressions may deceive. If a student does not dress well, it does not mean that he/she is a slob. If a student is fat and overeats, it does not mean that he/she is a slob either. Actually, one has to look at the whole picture before making any sort of judgment and it is also important not to generalize or come up with assertions which at the end of the day are false and misleading. This reading does attempt to explain everything in detail and is highly recommended on all counts.
References:
Strayer University (2009); Are Students Really Slobs; pg. 192-193; McGraw Hill