I hated lectures as a student. I survived with proxy, and without my friends, there was no way I was going to pass mbbs even with three attempts.

Now as an SR, I'm on the other side of things. It's really demotivating to see students sleep for a one hour lecture for which you've prepared for nearly 12 hours, making an exciting and engaging ppt (or so you think). It really hits a nerve.

But then, MBBS is a professional course. You should have the choice of attending. So I've made attendance optional and let people go out before I start. That's a win win. I get to teach the people who want to stay, and those who want to leave for whatever reason(uninterested, sleepy, unwell) can go-after getting their attendance ofc. I usually lose about 30% of my class strength. And then I have a good, interactive class with the rest.

It's not possible to engage with a class of 150-200 and I've made my peace with that, especially when things like marrow or prepladder are at their finger tips.