9:30 am on Mondays, Wednesdays, and
Fridays, I find myself in a classroom at Furman University, sitting in a hard
plastic desk, purposely designed to keep its user alert, staring at my
professor in order to learn Spanish. Some days, I am caffeinated and awake,
appearing well-put together; other days, it is a mystery how I managed to drag
myself into my seat. My troubles are universal to any college student: poor time
management, late night cram sessions, or perhaps a spontaneous adventure to
Waffle House at midnight are just a few reasons why I am currently still in the
process of waking up in my early morning Spanish class. The trend of sleepy
eyes and the occasional yawn has spread among my classmates, and caused my professor
to make an announcement, “Yawning is not allowed in my classroom because it is
rude and shows disinterest.” She went on to claim that yawning is a cultural
phenomenon and in her native country, Spain, people do not yawn. I interpret
her statement as inaccurate. My cultural environment did not teach me the
ability to yawn. A yawn in innate as a cough or sneeze, and to forbid a natural
bodily action is unreasonable. This classroom rule is a violation of my natural
rights.
Yawning is not a product of the
cultural environment. In fact, unborn fetuses even yawn. On Live Science, there
is a video of an ultrasound of a 30 week old fetus yawning. According to their
study, fetal yawning is linked to healthy brain development. An unborn fetus
has no exposure to the culture of the outside world, proving that a yawn is
innate and a natural bodily function (Ghose, Tia). In addition to this, animals
also yawn. There are countless times where I have personally observed my two
dogs yawning. Animals are not affected by the customs o the American culture in
response to yawning. Yawning is natural process like breathing, coughing, or
breathing. No other person is harmed from the process of the yawn. Prohibiting
me from yawning is an infringement on my personal freedom. This is my body, the
thing that I possess the most fully and entirely. I have the right to life,
liberty, and the pursuit of yawning.
It is reasonable to expect a
certain etiquette in stifling a yawn. One may cover the yawn with their hand.
One may stop the noise that usually accompanies the best of yawns. Or one may
try not to open their mouth and instead make a convoluted expression that is
almost worse than the actual yawn. After the yawn, one could offer an
apologizing remark to excuse the yawn. This is the proper etiquette of a yawn,
and this is reasonable discipline to expect from the yawner; however, the right
to yawn must always exist in these free, fifty states.
Ghose, Tia. "Fetus Yawning Reveals Brain Development." LiveScience.
TechMedia Network, 21 Nov. 2012. Web. 16 Feb. 2015.
I feel your professor's pain as someone who has stared down many a passive-aggressive yawn and head-plant-into-desk. It's of course not the most fun thing in the world to face, and I don't like it. So let's just have a moment of empathy for those who have to deal with yawns, which of course as you note are an innate response.
ReplyDeleteHaving said that, your post brings up many interesting points about the difference between innate traits and cultural expression. This is a topic that fascinated Smith and Hutcheson. Cultures seem to show both a uniformity and a diversity--how is that? They posited certain set universal tendencies, like sympathy and benevolence, that then undergo various cultural transformations. So both you and your professor are right: yawns are innate, but the idea of feeling free to yawn in class is indeed a very American thing, a product of our emphasis on individualism and a sense of entitlement to our own opinions and beliefs.
I've had teachers outlaw yawning, which only encouraged my eighth grade class to yawn in drawn-out, elaborate ways.I can definitely see how teachers aren't the biggest fans of their students yawning during their lectures and discussions, but like you said, it's a natural function. I have an 8:30 this semester, so a couple of yawns have escaped me during class, but I don't mean any disrespect by it-I'm simply just tired.
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