Adding some of my class rules.
Remember that the classroom is a community. All the members are important. Don't grandstand, monopolize, or humiliate.
My class is not a place for religious or political discourse.
Do not come to my class stoned or drunk.
Do not eat or drink anything smelly or noisy during my class. A coffee cup is fine. Slurping a Big Gulp through a straw and shaking the ice around repeatedly is not. A candy bar is fine. A meatball sub is not.
Do not come to my class late. If you are late, there is an alternate assignment posted. Once my classroom door is closed, you are late. Do the assignment. Do not come in and argue with me about how you weren't really late.
If your phone rings during my class, I will answer it for you.
Do not bring guests to class. That includes your baby, your little kid, your dog, your SO, your parent, or your friend who is visiting.
Do not record my class or anything in my class without express permission from me.
Do not come to me the week of the final and ask what you have to do to get an A/pass.
Do not ask if you can do extra credit.
Do not ask anything that is not answered clearly in the syllabus. It only shows me that you don't take time to read it.
This is a lecture and discussion class. Do not bring your laptop/iPad/gadgetry unless you need it for a medical purpose or are physically unable to use a pen and paper.
Contact me, as stated in the syllabus, only via university email or in person during my office hours.
(I usually hit my students with all the mean teacher stuff up front. Then they are all scared of me, and end up being surprised by how much fun we have and how much they learn during my classes.)
The difference between high school and college classes is huge, and I think it is partially our responsibility to remember that most incoming students (or students returning after years away from a campus) have no clue that what was acceptable in Mr. K's math class is not acceptable in Professor Smith's Topics in Western Civ seminar. I try to lay out even what seems like the most obvious things, because otherwise, students think that they are scoring points by asking if they can do extra credit, record lectures, or want to call me at home/text/be FB friends.