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[marigolds]

Gah! I get one of these every year. The holiday doesn't start until Wednesday, and they KNOW that!.

I was looking over my flight information for Thanksgiving Break and saw that my flight leaves that Mon, meaning I would miss class on Tuesday. I tried changing my flight but it would be a $150.00 difference that I can't afford. Is there work I can make up so that my grades will not be affected by this absence?

If the flight leaves Mon, presumably it also arrives on Mon, so why won't they be in class on Tues?

I think the student means the Monday and Tuesday before Thanksgiving, not after.

Correct, because as you all know, Thanksgiving break starts the Friday before the holiday and doesn't end until students feel like coming back to campus. Usually some time after Tuesday. Why? Because the first Monday after Thanksgiving is often the first day of deer hunting season, you know, and then you need Tuesday to recover from sitting in a tree on Monday, and Wednesday to recover from taking your deer to the butcher shop on Tuesday.
We really should just end the fall term Nov 20th and avoid all this nonsense. Better yet, let's just end with Halloween so we don't have anyone in class in November or December.

I could get behind that proposal.

[asa_phelps]

Dr. Asa,
 
Thank you for the extension on my paper.  I worked hard the last few days getting it finished so I didn't have to take advantage of the offer.  I am extremely grateful for your understanding before.  I will bring it to class tomorrow!


Student was going though some very difficult family business.  She never would elaborate much.  Sometimes they really do surprise you.

[psemingson]

My favorite so far...

I do not like math much at all.... I am a liberal arts type of person. ;)  But I have been a 4.0 student all my life, and I want to contiue that way through college.  What I want to know is, what do I ahve to  do to get a "A"  or "B" in your class?

umm... study, do your homework, and read the directions?

lol. Yes, the old "I need to maintain my 4.0".

[alleyoxenfree]

We ought to meet for class until Thanksgiving, and the remainder should be a writing period, during which students run experiments and write them up, research and write papers, and so forth.  I don't know if that would work in everyone's field, but it would in mine, and it might get students to actively participate in the semester instead of barely getting in assignment 1, careening over to assignment 2, and so forth.  And they would only sit with butts in seats half as long, or 2/3rds as long.

re: "what would I have to do?" I think they learn this lingo from some sales book about getting what you want.  "What do I have to do to get you to go home with this encyclopedia today?"  Regardless, I always feel I'm being sexually propositioned, and the next time a kid does it, I'm going to remain silent, let the pause grow awkward, then ask, "What exactly are you suggesting?"

[polly_mer]

We ought to meet for class until Thanksgiving, and the remainder should be a writing period, during which students run experiments and write them up, research and write papers, and so forth.  I don't know if that would work in everyone's field, but it would in mine, and it might get students to actively participate in the semester instead of barely getting in assignment 1, careening over to assignment 2, and so forth.  And they would only sit with butts in seats half as long, or 2/3rds as long.

You mean other people don't do this in their classes?  Huh.  That's what I have planned with the last week of class as presentations on what they did for their research papers and demonstrations from their teaching portfolios.

re: "what would I have to do?" I think they learn this lingo from some sales book about getting what you want.  "What do I have to do to get you to go home with this encyclopedia today?"  Regardless, I always feel I'm being sexually propositioned, and the next time a kid does it, I'm going to remain silent, let the pause grow awkward, then ask, "What exactly are you suggesting?"

Then you are the one to help me respond to this email.

Dear Dr. Mer,

I'm getting an F.  I can't afford to get less than a C.  I'll do whatever you say I must do to raise this grade.  C'mon, work with me here, Dr. Mer.

For what should I ask?  I was merely going to point out that more than 50% of the grade remains to be earned, visiting me during office hours to discuss the material, her project, and her portfolio might help, and taking advantage of in-class discussions with people other than her best friend who is also only a D- student might help.  But I'm open to fun suggestions as well.

[big_giant_head]

Here's the email:

"I had this done the day we had to turn it in. But we had no paper in the printer at school. I know it sounds like im making excuses so im emailing this to you. I saw my grade tonight and realized it was probably in my best interest to turn it in"


Here's the background: this coming Friday is the last day to withdraw from classes, so I sent an email to all my students reminding them of that, asking them to check their grades on our CMS, and suggesting that they think about whether they want a W or the grade they are currently earning. 

The student who sent the email above is currently earning about a 55%, and a 70% is the passing grade.  The assignment she is attempting to turn in was due October 22nd.  The syllabus is very clear on two points: I don't accept late assignments, and students should do their work far enough in advance that they can react successfully to any technical difficulties. 

I just love how she doesn't even ask if it's OK to turn something in three weeks late.  And...and...and..."no paper in the printer"???  Seriously?  She couldn't come up with anything better than THAT?

[galactic_hedgehog]

Apparently, your school has only one printer. Spartan.

And it's always empty.

[phlegmatic]

This is from a student who never turned in a research proposal at the beginning of the semester and blew off three appointments to see me during my office hours. He finally came to see me two days before this paper was due:

i have to tell you know i guess. i am not satisfied with this paper it is very poor reflection of my work. the reason for this was my procrastination on this paper and the limited selection of material i could use for this paper. I have a proposition, i am going to hand in this paper and you can grade it, but if you dont mind i would like to switch my topic to possibly topic x or topic y. i will then write another paper for corrections only next week i will hand it in. if you dont want me to choose a new topic,all i ask is that you work closely with me on this paper so i get a good grade. i will see you monday. thank you,
sincerely,
All I'm Asking

I have no idea what this student is asking, actually, other than for me to "work closely with him so he can get a good grade." Oh wait, he's proposing that I grade an entire other paper for him. As if that paper will get done, either.

I'm going to tell him that sure, he can change his topic, but I will work with him no more or no less closely than I have offered all semester, and that it is not MY work on HIS topic that can guarantee him a good grade. Wow.

[big_giant_head]

Apparently, your school has only one printer. Spartan.

And it's always empty.

So.  She came to class today, and brought a hardcopy of the late paper.  Do you all find that this happens a lot?  Students send you an email but never check to see if you have responded? 

Student: Hey, here's my paper.  I emailed you about it.

Me: Yes, I know, and I answered.  Did you read that?

Student: No, what did you say?

Me: You're sitting in front of a computer screen.  Log into the system and read what I wrote.  I would rather not say it out loud, nor do I really want to have to say it twice. 



Students! Email is a TWO WAY medium.

[big_giant_head]

Big_Giant_Head--that's so the case.

And it's particularly ironic considering that they all want you to do whatever unreasonable thing they're demanding "as soon as possible." 

I've started including that phrase in my list of things that will cause me to delete your email without responding list, a list I cover with the syllabus on the first day.

And does that actually help?  I was complaining about the student mentioned above to a colleague, who asked, "Why do you think they're going to actually read the syllabus?"  To which I answered, "I don't.  That's why I read it out loud to them: no late papers will be accepted."   But clearly, for a few of our students, neither providing them the policy, asking them to read the policy, nor reading the policy to them is any guarantee that they will have ever encountered the policy on a conscious level.

[conjugate]

Apparently, your school has only one printer. Spartan.

And it's always empty.

This kid will grow up and have children.  And the kid will say to them, "Hmmph!  When I was your age, we had to turn in hard-copies printed on actual paper!  And there was only one printer for the entire University, and it was always out of paper!  You kids today, you don't know what it was like...."

I presume the printer repairman always had to walk uphill in the snow with no boots to repair the thing, too.

[barcrossliar]

Maybe it's selective attention.   

Or maybe I heard everything you said, but I want to turn my paper in now.  Why should I acknowledge that you won't take it?  Why not use my ignorance or magical thinking to pretend I'm perfectly reasonable to think you will accept it?  I'm special.  Don't be mean to me.

-+LR

[llanfair]

So far this term I've been replying to idiotic emails about assignments, &c, with a "Let's look at the syllabus" and the relevant chunk of said syllabus copied/pasted into the email.  This makes me feel like Mrs. Nicey-Nicey from Junior Kindergarten.

However, I've sent about 25 such emails, and there's another 3 weeks in the term.  I'm beginning to think a plenary email saying, "Just read the GD syllabus, already!" is in order.

Or maybe I'll do that at the beginning of 2nd term, since I have these kidlings till April.

Sigh ...

[cc_alan]

So far this term I've been replying to idiotic emails about assignments, &c, with a "Let's look at the syllabus" and the relevant chunk of said syllabus copied/pasted into the email.  This makes me feel like Mrs. Nicey-Nicey from Junior Kindergarten.

However, I've sent about 25 such emails, and there's another 3 weeks in the term.  I'm beginning to think a plenary email saying, "Just read the GD syllabus, already!" is in order.

I had a student (poor attendance) miss an exam and then email a week later asking about when he could do a makeup exam. I simply replied that the exam makeup policy was clearly stated in the syllabus.

He dropped. Well... I assume he's dropped since it's been another week without him.

Alan

[galactic_hedgehog]

I'm beginning to think a plenary email saying, "Just read the GD syllabus, already!" is in order.

You're using Gennidad's syllabus?