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[au_fait]

Keep us posted!! I'm interested to know what the student thinks hu's entitled to.

This just in (and classes don't start until tomorrow!) -

"Dear Dr. Rowan

I saw the schedule of events on the Web syllabus and they are just not going to work for me.  I know this class is about going to these things but all six of the events occur when I will most likely be busy.  Is there a way we can work around having to attend the events?"

What I really loved was the "most likely be busy" phrase.  I can't wait to meet the student!

Dear Student,

The events are non-negotiable requirements for the class, much like final exams and paper assignments.  Students are responsible for meeting these requirements in order to pass the course.  If you feel unable to meet these requirements, please make an appointment to come by my office as soon as possible so that I may sign your drop slip.  

Best wishes,

Dr. Rowan

[dr_evil]

This just in (and classes don't start until tomorrow!) -

"Dear Dr. Rowan

I saw the schedule of events on the Web syllabus and they are just not going to work for me.  I know this class is about going to these things but all six of the events occur when I will most likely be busy.  Is there a way we can work around having to attend the events?"

What I really loved was the "most likely be busy" phrase.  I can't wait to meet the student!

I can't believe the line "they are just not going to work for me."  Yes, I'll reschedule the entire semester just for you.

Best of luck with this one, Rowan.

[gennimom]

I would have been slapped if I tried to pull this one. Can I slap this student?

[ptprof]

hey PTProf
Student Name here. i was just wonderin what kind of things we will learn in grapefruit class so i know what to expect. i forgot her name but when i went last week to the meeting, o yea ms. Faculty Member Name told me that class was hard so i was just wondering what kind of things i'll be learning so i wont be too surprised. so get back to me when you can. thanks

Student Name


Not as bad as some others, but still the grammer, the cluelessness, the "Hey" and the "Get back to me".  Of course classes start tomorrow and this email arrived today.  I guess the expectation that the student could look up the class either through blackboard (which he is already signed up for) or through the college catalog available on the website is asking way tooo much.

[case_insensitive]

hey PTProf
Student Name here. i was just wonderin what kind of things we will learn in grapefruit class so i know what to expect. i forgot her name but when i went last week to the meeting, o yea ms. Faculty Member Name told me that class was hard so i was just wondering what kind of things i'll be learning so i wont be too surprised. so get back to me when you can. thanks

Student Name


Not as bad as some others, but still the grammer, the cluelessness, the "Hey" and the "Get back to me".  Of course classes start tomorrow and this email arrived today.  I guess the expectation that the student could look up the class either through blackboard (which he is already signed up for) or through the college catalog available on the website is asking way tooo much.

...the grammar (I think that is misspelled even more often than separate!).

The irrationally informal tone is what gets me...

I wonder how you responded?  I would say something like, "Feel free to have a look at the syllabus" (insert web address for syllabus or remind about blackboard (could be a new student who doesn't know about blackboard) or just say tomorrow during the first class).

[grasshopper]

Wow, you guys have really rude and entitled students. This term, for some reason, mine are incredibly polite.

We had some nasty weather yesterday, and quite a few students couldn't make it to class. I received some emails yesterday and this morning, asking about the weekly assignments due next class, that included things like this:

I am truly sorry for using up your time, and I promise that on Wednesday I will get a classmates e-mail so that I don't ever have to so this again. Thank you for your time, and sorry once again.


And this:
I know how much professors hate when students e-mail about what readings to do and so forth. But, this morning the roads were in a bad condition out where I live and I was too afraid to drive myself into class ( I live about an hour away from school)...


And this:
Dear Professor,

I was unable to attend class today due to the weather. I was just
wondering if you assigned a weekly writting for Wednsday, and if so what reading i would have to do. Thank you so much for your time and patience.

Sincerly,
Student

*******************

Isn't that amazing? I don't know what I've done to make this happen, but once I figure out the secret, I'll let you know. 

[prytania3]

Grasshopper:

Isn't that amazing? I don't know what I've done to make this happen, but once I figure out the secret, I'll let you know. 

You're the Sasshopper and they worship you.

[grasshopper]

Grasshopper:

Isn't that amazing? I don't know what I've done to make this happen, but once I figure out the secret, I'll let you know. 

You're the Sasshopper and they worship you.

Of course! I can't believe I didn't think of that...

[infopri]

We had some nasty weather yesterday, and quite a few students couldn't make it to class.

The last position I held was about an hour from where I live, and the drive took me through a consistently bad weather band (lake effect snow off one of the Great Lakes, which means the road I had to drive would be in total white-out, with no place to pull over).  I always enjoyed the emails that said, essentially, "Dear Prof. Infopri, I live half an hour away from campus [in the same direction as me], so the weather prevented me from getting to class today."

I usually let them off the hook if the roads were truly bad (and they often were), but I had a new understanding of the vice chancellor of my undergraduate alma mater (near where I live now), who never cancelled classes for snow days because "if I [he] can get to campus, so can you."

[gennimom]

That is a recipe for getting sued (not saying the suits would be legitimate), but around here, the non-natives can probably drive on ice and snow better than the natives. We don't get it often, but when we do, the campus shuts down to protect the good drivers from the idiots.

GD and I decided to stock up in case the weather hit here just so we wouldn't find out that somebody who couldn't drive was on the road the hard way. We know GD can handle the snow (the drive back from the Snow Bowl proved it), but that doesn't do you any good when some other idiot tries to drive and hits you.

[infopri]

We know GD can handle the snow (the drive back from the Snow Bowl proved it), but that doesn't do you any good when some other idiot tries to drive and hits you.

Not to hijack the thread, but I live in an area that gets some serious snow (150" to 190") and ice almost every year (except, so far, this one--YAY!).  Most people here know how to drive on it.  Yet somehow, every summer, this knowledge seems to go away, making the first snowstorm of the year an incredibly dangerous time to be out among other drivers.  Then, by the second storm, everyone seems to get their memory back.  Weird.

[gennimom]

One more comment and then back to the regularly scheduled thread:

Infopri, we experience something similar after a long dry spell. As soon as a major storm starts, it's as if everyone forgets how to drive on wet roads. There are way more accidents immediately after the rain starts (of course the roads are slicker then anyway) than there are later on, or after the start of another rain storm within a couple of weeks of the first.

[rowan1]

Looks like I will not get to meet the wonder student till Thursday - snow and ice here. 

I didn't even send a response, I cover this issue extensively on day one -  and offer alternatives (limited) for scheduling issues based on other classes, athletic schedules, and other University sponsored activites, not a pass on attending, just other options - my suggestion for this one is that he/she just drop the class.

On the other hand, like grasshopper I have some great students at the other school I teach at, as well as this one - lots of emails and phone calls about what to work on since the school canceled today's classes (when I was half way there!).

This just in (and classes don't start until tomorrow!) -

"Dear Dr. Rowan

I saw the schedule of events on the Web syllabus and they are just not going to work for me.  I know this class is about going to these things but all six of the events occur when I will most likely be busy.  Is there a way we can work around having to attend the events?"

What I really loved was the "most likely be busy" phrase.  I can't wait to meet the student!

I can't believe the line "they are just not going to work for me."  Yes, I'll reschedule the entire semester just for you.

Best of luck with this one, Rowan.

[drsyn]

Today is the first day of classes -

"Are you familiar with the International edition of the required Chemistry book. I have access to this edition and would like to know if I can use it? I also wondered if you are going to start class before 8 am on TR, it seems the class was started before 8:00 am this morning.
Thank you,"

[cc_alan]

Today is the first day of classes -

"Are you familiar with the International edition of the required Chemistry book. I have access to this edition and would like to know if I can use it? I also wondered if you are going to start class before 8 am on TR, it seems the class was started before 8:00 am this morning.
Thank you,"

The time one is easy! Tell the students that you start according to your watch. You keep your watch set to a reliable source (I use Official US Time which uses the USNO to help keep track... hey, I'm only 8 seconds slow!).

It makes for a good laugh when I tell the students on the first day about how geek-boy keeps track of time...

Alan