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[arugula]

I started class today only to look down and see that there was a four inch gap in the outside seam of my pants.  The hole was high on my leg and quite obvious.

I used an alligator clip to hold it together, announced gravely that I had to leave because I had a large hole in my pants, and I went home to change.

Sigh.  Could any of you please make me feel better by sharing *your* in-class embarassments??

[yemaya]

I tend to walk around a little bit when lecturing.  Last semester, I tripped and came close to eating pavement in front of a large lecture. 

Last year, a colleague had just finished a 50-minute lecture.  He was excited - the students had seemed to be super-engaged and animated.  Turns out his fly was down the whole time, leaving the brightly-colored boxers he'd chosen to wear that day on display.

[tin_cup_chalice]

I had the hole in the pants problem once.  Fortunately, I keep a little stapler in my bag.  I went out in the hall, stapled my pants and nobody noticed!

[starfleet_grad]

Once I leaned against one of the classroom tables, which promptly collapsed. I fell and dislocated my finger. I have tripped over cords so many times that I've lost count.

[dr_evil]

I tend to walk around a little bit when lecturing.  Last semester, I tripped and came close to eating pavement in front of a large lecture. 

I actually did hit the floor when I tripped, and, yes, in front of a large lecture.  I also managed to once miss the "m" when talking about "mass."  No idea how that happened.

[busyslinky]

I think you should try to do one embarrassing or self-deprecating thing during the semester.  The students realize you are human and that you can joke about it.  Plus, if you let them go early because of it, they'll like you even more.  Worth at least .2-.3 as a plus on your evaluation.

But, don't do it too much than they start to consider you weird and incompetent.

[aristotelian]

You mean you left in the middle of class because of the hole?  That's way more unprofessional than the hole itself, in my opinion.  It's embarassing but it shouldn't prevent you from doing your job. 

[smart_e_pantz]

I tend to walk around a little bit when lecturing.  Last semester, I tripped and came close to eating pavement in front of a large lecture. 

I have this one beat...  I actually DID eat pavement in front of a large lecture!

[fishbrains]

Once, in a 3-hour night class, I became distracted and put an uncapped blue marker in my pants pocket and created a bulls-eye of sorts in a place where a person absolutely never wants a bulls-eye.

The students laughed hysterically.

My wife . . . well . . . she wasn't happy about the ruined pants. Although she did laugh when I took my pants and underwear off and we realized there was a very misshaped blue bulls-eye on my sensitive nether-regions. I had to endure many a Smurf joke from her for about two weeks.

[arugula]

I know it wasn't ideal to leave class, but I didn't know what else to do!  The hole was large--a seam thread came unravelled, I guess, so it was the side of my pants open--and I was quite exposed.  I wasn't happy about leaving, but it seems more unprofessional to stay. :-)

You mean you left in the middle of class because of the hole?  That's way more unprofessional than the hole itself, in my opinion.  It's embarassing but it shouldn't prevent you from doing your job. 

[arugula]

Fishbrains, this made me laugh out loud.  Thanks--

Once, in a 3-hour night class, I became distracted and put an uncapped blue marker in my pants pocket and created a bulls-eye of sorts in a place where a person absolutely never wants a bulls-eye.

[smart_e_pantz]

I had to endure many a Smurf joke from her for about two weeks.

ROFLMAO....  where are the animated smilies when you need them?

[scientiffikk]

Once I was lecturing and the students kept snickering and looking at each other.  I couldn't figure out what was so funny.  It kept going on for some time, maybe five minutes, and I was about to lose it.  I said, 'Why are you laughing, do I have chalk on my nose?'.  Most the the class practically screamed 'YES!' (I did have chalk on the tip of my nose).

[dogstar]

Once as I was rushing almost late to class in my most favorite stiletto heel boots the heel broke off. I didn't have time to rush home and change, so I entertained the class by hobbling around on my tippy toe for a while, asked them if they were going to write "professor appears to be unbalanced" on their evals (they were laughing uproariously by now), and then launched into a feminist critique of fashion (which made them laugh because my love for trendy shoes and hair is infamous), and finally settled everyone down into a regular class session which I delivered sitting down on a table. Eyes kept straying to my swinging, heeless foot....

 

[yemaya]

I thought of a few more!

I said, 'Why are you laughing, do I have chalk on my nose?'.  Most the the class practically screamed 'YES!' (I did have chalk on the tip of my nose).

One time I had a "butterfingers moment" and the chalk eraser slipped out of my hand and down the front of me.  I was wearing dark colors that day.  I walked into my next class and made a crack about being attacked by an eraser.  They all laughed and we had one of the best discussion meetings of the term.

(Wow, am I clumsy!!)

When I TAd for my advisor, he brought his kid to the final exam.  During the exam, the prof ran upstairs to grab something from his office and left the kid there (who seemed to be just quietly doing his homework...no biggie).  I was walking back to the front of the lecture hall, after answering a student's question and the kid cut the biggest, loudest fart known to man just as I walked past.  There were many audiable giggles (I mean, you can't really yell out, "it wasn't me" in the middle of a final exam, especially when it's your diss. advisor's child.  I am very lucky evaluations were over - especially as my last name is quite easily twisted into a euphemism for passing gas.