Last night, I taught 45 beginning Spanish students, the majority of whom did not really want to be there. MOST of the students, all males between the ages of 18 and 24, were attentive and polite. They had a mindset that if they had to be in class, then they might as well learn something.  There were about five students, however, who had no desire or intention of learning anything. It was like a typical high school classroom with one big difference: LEVERAGE.

These students chew tobacco instead of gum; they do not need to graduate, do not get a grade and do not need to show any achievement in the language. They do, however, get a $50 bonus just for showing up. Mind you, they don't have to be there mentally, just physically.  Class lasted for 1.5 hours, a perfect length for some, and 1.5 hours too long for a few others. Two students, who were sitting in the FRONT row, chatted through the entire class. Three others passed their cell phones back and forth as they watched videos and talked.  The other forty paid attention for the most part, in between distracting outbursts from the three video watchers and the distracting drone of the two chatterboxes in the front.  The truth of the matter is that everyone would have acquired more, if those five rude and obnoxious students had not been there.