llanfair
Village idiot and Very
Distinguished Senior Member
Posts: 23,199
Whither Canada?
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« Reply #6225 on: January 07, 2009, 06:07:19 PM » |
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Student: I am sorry I missed the first day of class. Did I miss anything important?
Me: Whenever you miss class it is your responsibility to contact a classmate to find out what you missed.
Student: But I haven't met anyone in class yet.
Me: That's one of the things we do on the first day.
Exactly! |
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This place stinks like a pair of armoured trousers after the Hundred Years' War.
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peppergal
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« Reply #6226 on: January 07, 2009, 06:09:17 PM » |
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Thank the powers that be, my institution allows me to drop students who don't attend the first class. Since my courses usually have substantial waitlists, I drop those who don't attend and take students off the waitlist, and I email my class before the semester starts to tell them that this is what I do. Sure enough, some snowflake will not show up the first day, then wander in at some later point and whine that s/he has been dropped. And I tell him/her "tough cookies, I sent you an email. Not my problem that you couldn't be bothered to read it."
I only once had to make an exception, when a student frantically emailed me the day before classes started to say he had gone to Israel over the break to visit family, but due to terrorist activity the airport was closed and his flight was cancelled (I checked online news, and this was true), he wasn't sure when he would be able to get back to the US, and would I please give his email address to the class so that he could copy someone's notes? Also, he knew the syllabus said I didn't accept late work, so could he have the first couple of assignments now so that he could email them to me if he wasn't able to be back by the due dates?
And that is how (in my opinion) a student should behave.
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infopri
I guess I'm now a VERY
Distinguished Senior Member
Posts: 18,463
When all else fails, let us agree to disagree.
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« Reply #6227 on: January 07, 2009, 06:24:21 PM » |
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I only once had to make an exception, when a student frantically emailed me the day before classes started to say he had gone to Israel over the break to visit family, but due to terrorist activity the airport was closed and his flight was cancelled (I checked online news, and this was true), he wasn't sure when he would be able to get back to the US, and would I please give his email address to the class so that he could copy someone's notes? Also, he knew the syllabus said I didn't accept late work, so could he have the first couple of assignments now so that he could email them to me if he wasn't able to be back by the due dates?
And that is how (in my opinion) a student should behave.
Agreed. I got this semester's first email from a (graduate) student who is moving out of the country at the beginning of February. (It's an online-only class that doesn't even begin until next week.) The student anticipates being offline for four days during the move. She wanted to know now whether her inability to access the Internet (and therefore the course website) during those four days would be a problem and whether any assignments would be due, as she'd prefer to do them early and submit them before the move. If only all my students were that proactive! |
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Your experience is not universal. Words to live by.
MYOB. Y enseñen bien a sus hijos. |
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swedishberry
Deliciously fruity
Senior member
Posts: 401
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« Reply #6228 on: January 07, 2009, 06:27:15 PM » |
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Student: I am sorry I missed the first day of class. Did I miss anything important?
Me: Whenever you miss class it is your responsibility to contact a classmate to find out what you missed.
Student: But I haven't met anyone in class yet.
Me: That's one of the things we do on the first day.
I think this kind of logic would be lost on many students. Peppergal: I wish I could drop students who failed to show on the first day. I just did a quick tally and 12/35 did not show up on the first day. This is a required course for majors, so no one is likely to drop. Last year I taught a course where 2 students did not come to class ever, except for the exams and to hand in the paper. Needless to say, neither did well. But at least they didn't bother me with silly e-mails! |
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mayjohn
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« Reply #6229 on: January 07, 2009, 06:38:12 PM » |
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Swedishberry, I hate that one too! I'm not a kindergarten teacher, so don't call me Mrs. (For that matter, I kept my name, so I'm not a Mrs.) And this would be my reply:
Dear Susie:
Yes.
Sincerely,
Professor Swedishberry.
The problem with this response is that you will almost definitely get the moronic follow-up: " thanks, I thought I missed something important, could you please tell me what it is?" Which means you have to write another email... My response: Dear Susie: Everything we do in class is important. As stated on the syllabus (p.142, par.96, section 673) "if a student misses class, it is student responsibility to obtain the material, notes, announcements , homework assignments and any other relevant information about the class from classmates. The instructor will not deliver parts of lectures, entire lectures, repeat announcements or distribute material already delivered or made available during the normal class session to individual students or groups of students" Sincerely, Dr. John |
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eulerian_ta
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« Reply #6230 on: January 07, 2009, 06:52:00 PM » |
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I turned in grades yesterday. I got the following today:
Subject: IN garde
professor I received my grade IN what can Do to change that IN grade.
No signature, and the email was not from a campus address and wasn't even in a name format.
(Of all my students, only 2 got incompletes--and I am now regretting that. One didn't show up to the final and the other didn't turn in a paper. Neither one should be confused about what he is missing. Both are, for what it is worth, native English speakers.)
Maybe the student meant for the subject of the email to be "en garde"? Watch your back. |
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concordancia
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« Reply #6231 on: January 07, 2009, 07:08:18 PM » |
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My failing student who is now on academic suspension did cry a bit, but she was reasonable.
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I like money. I like to buy stuff and experiences with money.
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mountainguy
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« Reply #6232 on: January 07, 2009, 07:32:14 PM » |
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My failing student who is now on academic suspension did cry a bit, but she was reasonable.
Glad to hear it, CD. Sometimes they know when they've cooked their own goose. Hopefully suspension will be the kick she needs to figure out why college isn't working out for her and to make some important decisions about what to do next. |
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yemaya
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« Reply #6233 on: January 07, 2009, 08:10:10 PM » |
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Mayjohn,
You're probably right. Perhaps this would be a better response:
Dear Snowflake,
Yes. Make sure that you contact a classmate to find out what you missed.
...That annoying thing is that I have it in my syllabus that students are responsible for finding out what they've missed and I still get these emails.
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Historians are gossips who tease the dead. ~Voltaire
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octoprof
Member-Moderator
Distinguished Senior Member
Posts: 32,746
Dérailleur-in-Chief (nominee)
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« Reply #6234 on: January 07, 2009, 08:15:21 PM » |
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That annoying thing is that I have it in my syllabus that students are responsible for finding out what they've missed and I still get these emails.
Me, too. That's more proof they do not read the syllabus or that they ignore it even if they read it. |
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Let us consider that we are all partially insane. It will explain us to each other; it will unriddle many riddles; it will make clear and simple many things... Mark Twain
It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities. Professor Dumbledore
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european
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« Reply #6235 on: January 07, 2009, 08:25:29 PM » |
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That annoying thing is that I have it in my syllabus that students are responsible for finding out what they've missed and I still get these emails.
Me, too. That's more proof they do not read the syllabus or that they ignore it even if they read it. Maybe they justify their behavior as: "Hey, I'm responsible - I'll try to find out by mailing you!" |
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mountainguy
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« Reply #6236 on: January 07, 2009, 08:32:51 PM » |
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Maybe they justify their behavior as: "Hey, I'm responsible - I'll try to find out by mailing you!"
This is exactly what they're thinking. It makes sense in their heads. My response to these e-mails is always some variation: "Please get the notes from a classmate and the handouts posted in Blackboard. If you have any more questions after that, please see me during office hours." Occasionally, a student will complain that they don't know anyone else in the class. But that's not my problem. (Actually, if a student does appear to be painfully shy, I'll do my best to introduce them to another student in the class. But it's still up to them to initiate a conversation about getting notes). |
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pedanterast
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« Reply #6237 on: January 07, 2009, 08:43:38 PM » |
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My failing student who is now on academic suspension did cry a bit, but she was reasonable.
What if I said crying in a prof's office is unreasonable by definition? Would I get flamed? Let's find out! |
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octoprof
Member-Moderator
Distinguished Senior Member
Posts: 32,746
Dérailleur-in-Chief (nominee)
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« Reply #6238 on: January 07, 2009, 08:50:11 PM » |
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My failing student who is now on academic suspension did cry a bit, but she was reasonable.
What if I said crying in a prof's office is unreasonable by definition? Would I get flamed? Let's find out! I agree. Don't cry in my office. I don't cry in class when the students break my heart so they shouldn't be crying in my office. I'm happy to give them directions to the counseling center but don't make me deal with crying. |
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Let us consider that we are all partially insane. It will explain us to each other; it will unriddle many riddles; it will make clear and simple many things... Mark Twain
It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities. Professor Dumbledore
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concordancia
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« Reply #6239 on: January 07, 2009, 08:54:44 PM » |
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My failing student who is now on academic suspension did cry a bit, but she was reasonable.
What if I said crying in a prof's office is unreasonable by definition? Would I get flamed? Let's find out! I agree. Don't cry in my office. I don't cry in class when the students break my heart so they shouldn't be crying in my office. I'm happy to give them directions to the counseling center but don't make me deal with crying. I used to think this way, too. See, I am adapting to my environment!! I now define unreasonable as: raising your voice, insulting me, and blaming me for your poor grades more than once. Oh, and trying to convince me that your cheating wasn't really cheating because of some ridiculous loophole that you invented. |
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« Last Edit: January 07, 2009, 08:57:08 PM by concordancia »
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I like money. I like to buy stuff and experiences with money.
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