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[prytania3]

HELP. ME! UPDATE:

I followed acrimone's advice--actually I used hu verbage.  This is the response from the student:

What I'm upset about is that i don't seem to have any difficulty with the material. When I did the practice problems to review for the test and when we do examples in class, I make sure I have the answer before you tell us what it is, to make sure that I know that I'm doing it right and not just writing down what you tell us. I have classes during your office hours so I'm not sure what else to do. I've been known to freeze up on tests in Math so maybe there is an additional form of grading that can help me? I see that i have an F in the class and obviously, that is unacceptable. Please let me know if you can give me any form of extra credit. There is very very litle chance of me being able to raise an F to passing before the end of the semester, regardless of all the hard work I put into the class. I've already put in hard work and I've failed two tests and am failing the course. Please let me do some form of extra work, be it extra problems or whatever becasue I really do need to do well in this class. I understand the material. It all makes sense. My practice problems and the homework answers are correct. I just don't understand why then, I perform poorly on exams.

So, Let's review...  she doesn't really want to improve her work, she wants extra credit.  Which is a no go from the start!

Can you schedule an appointment at a different time to meet with her? That way she will have no excuse. It is the only way you're going to know if she is really doing all the things she claims. And if she is, you can steer her to the right office for any LD problems.

I mean, she is arrogant, but unless you meet with her, I think the situation escalates.

[cc_alan]

A course website can really cut down on your email load. Even a simple site with your syllabus, handouts, and a discussion board for course policies questions will absorb most student email.

I have one or two students every quarter who ask me the link to my website (maybe 3-5 weeks in).

And I tell them it's in the syllabus. And on my contact sheet.

Hey... I saw this in another thread!

:)

Alan

[smart_e_pantz]

Can you schedule an appointment at a different time to meet with her? That way she will have no excuse. It is the only way you're going to know if she is really doing all the things she claims. And if she is, you can steer her to the right office for any LD problems.

I mean, she is arrogant, but unless you meet with her, I think the situation escalates.

Yep...  I sent her an email asking her what time she can meet on Thursday or Friday--she hasn't responded yet!

[fosca]

If she does show, make sure she knows to bring along all her highlighted and rewritten notes, etc.  I'd be interested to know if they actually exist; if they do, then test anxiety or some such thing is more likely.

[t_folk]

This from a student with an email address that included the word Barbie. The text was in pink. It occurred during a summer session:

On Wed, 14 Jun 2006 11:07:55 EDT, BarbieGRiTS wrote
>
> I have been sick with bronchitis and running fever and have been to the dr. twice since last week, spending over 200$ on medicine trying to get better.  This is out of my control as I have done everything to get better.  I really cannot afford to drop this class and have asked you what I needed to do to make up the work; if I don't take this class I don't graduate.  If you were running a high fever, throwing up, and coughing your lungs out I doubt you'd be sitting in the front of a class trying to teach.  In another sense, I'll be speaking with the dean b/c this issue is beyond my control.

No, I'd probably be writing out my last will and testament and trying to score some weed to take the edge off of the cyanide that I was about ingest - sounds like she has TB. I loved the "dean" threat too. She doesn't exactly say which dean (I doubt she knew), but it was a threat nonetheless. Too bad my department head got wind of this. She chewed ole Barbie a new one.

[smart_e_pantz]

Here's a doozy from bright and early this morning:

I told you that I was planning on writing you an e-mail after the second exam.  I would like to say that I didnt think that this test was anything like the first, which was similar to the homework and examples we went over in class. I studied for almost a week straight, just like on the first exam, and I still got a grade that I am very disappointed with. On the first exam, I got 1 1/2 problems wrong and that was a D. I thought that there was not nearly enough time to do those problems, especially since we had to make such extensive tables and calculations. This second test was nothing like all the homework we have done. I dont think of myself as stupid and I work very hard to get good grades, as I am receiving A's in my other 4 classes.
   
Another thing I want to address is the accusation you made about me cheating on my homework. I was planning on letting it go, but after talking with my mom I decided that I wish you would have addressed me before giving me a zero and automatically thinking that I cheated. I talked to [talking buddy] too, and I know he is not in your class anymore, but he can tell you that I do a lot of extra problems and if the one i did wrong was from last year, so be it, than it is a coincidence. If I was going to cheat, it would not take me 2 1/2 hours to copy 4 problems. I know what I am doing in class, and I actually taught 3 people in class how to do the problems, and they thanked me for making it clear. I took
stats in high school and had the highest grade in the class. I am hoping that next time we have an exam we go over problems that will be similar, as well as have enough time to finish and perhaps recheck our work.

[arugula]

Smarty Pants, this is a doozy but don't let it wreck a perfectly good Friday!  I winced as I read it; reproachful students are the worst for me to deal with.  This one has obviously had plenty of practice to be such a scold at such a young age. 

This student is imputing motives and otherwise trying to read your mind in less than flattering ways - probably lying awake nights, convinced that the only possibilities are that he/she is stupid or that you are unfair.  It's tough on a young psyche if those are the only two possible scenarios and you can't consider other plausible alternatives.

Two thoughts:

1. Have you read the thread "Students Can't Predict Performance"? You may want to google a summary of the study - it's a nice epiphany to realize that when students scold, "I was totally ready and I still failed" the problem might be them and not you in any way.

2. I would avoid getting into it with this student.  He/she will only get more certain that he/she is right and you are mean.  It will be a waste of time, effort, and good karma to try to convince him/her otherwise.  I'd write a one line email saying "Thank you for bringing your concerns to my attention.  If you have questions as you are preparing for the next exam, please feel free to ask them." Or something similar.

[prytania3]

Here's a doozy from bright and early this morning:

I told you that I was planning on writing you an e-mail after the second exam.  I would like to say that I didnt think that this test was anything like the first, which was similar to the homework and examples we went over in class. I studied for almost a week straight, just like on the first exam, and I still got a grade that I am very disappointed with. On the first exam, I got 1 1/2 problems wrong and that was a D. I thought that there was not nearly enough time to do those problems, especially since we had to make such extensive tables and calculations. This second test was nothing like all the homework we have done. I dont think of myself as stupid and I work very hard to get good grades, as I am receiving A's in my other 4 classes.
   
Another thing I want to address is the accusation you made about me cheating on my homework. I was planning on letting it go, but after talking with my mom I decided that I wish you would have addressed me before giving me a zero and automatically thinking that I cheated. I talked to [talking buddy] too, and I know he is not in your class anymore, but he can tell you that I do a lot of extra problems and if the one i did wrong was from last year, so be it, than it is a coincidence. If I was going to cheat, it would not take me 2 1/2 hours to copy 4 problems. I know what I am doing in class, and I actually taught 3 people in class how to do the problems, and they thanked me for making it clear. I took
stats in high school and had the highest grade in the class. I am hoping that next time we have an exam we go over problems that will be similar, as well as have enough time to finish and perhaps recheck our work.

Is this the same student?

[slac_vap]

I am hoping that next time we have an exam we go over problems that will be similar, as well as have enough time to finish and perhaps recheck our work.

I believe he meant to say:

I am hoping that next time we have an exam you will choose problems that you used on last year's exam, so that the problems I copy from my friend who took your class last year match the problems on the exam you give us, so that my cheating will be worthwhile.

[smart_e_pantz]

I am hoping that next time we have an exam we go over problems that will be similar, as well as have enough time to finish and perhaps recheck our work.

I believe he meant to say:

I am hoping that next time we have an exam you will choose problems that you used on last year's exam, so that the problems I copy from my friend who took your class last year match the problems on the exam you give us, so that my cheating will be worthwhile.

It's interesting that you say that....  because of the issue with her homework, I drastically changed the exam just so they couldn't do this.

[smart_e_pantz]

Here's a doozy from bright and early this morning:

I told you that I was planning on writing you an e-mail after the second exam.  I would like to say that I didnt think that this test was anything like the first, which was similar to the homework and examples we went over in class. I studied for almost a week straight, just like on the first exam, and I still got a grade that I am very disappointed with. On the first exam, I got 1 1/2 problems wrong and that was a D. I thought that there was not nearly enough time to do those problems, especially since we had to make such extensive tables and calculations. This second test was nothing like all the homework we have done. I dont think of myself as stupid and I work very hard to get good grades, as I am receiving A's in my other 4 classes.
   
Another thing I want to address is the accusation you made about me cheating on my homework. I was planning on letting it go, but after talking with my mom I decided that I wish you would have addressed me before giving me a zero and automatically thinking that I cheated. I talked to [talking buddy] too, and I know he is not in your class anymore, but he can tell you that I do a lot of extra problems and if the one i did wrong was from last year, so be it, than it is a coincidence. If I was going to cheat, it would not take me 2 1/2 hours to copy 4 problems. I know what I am doing in class, and I actually taught 3 people in class how to do the problems, and they thanked me for making it clear. I took
stats in high school and had the highest grade in the class. I am hoping that next time we have an exam we go over problems that will be similar, as well as have enough time to finish and perhaps recheck our work.

Is this the same student?

Are you asking if this is just one ridiculous email from one ridiculous student? 

Yes, it is.

[extinct]

Yup. Here we go. Hoorah for higher ed.

i am happy to be in your class and i will be a good student for you and get my work done. i have
a little promble with my spelling and reading.

[arugula]

Smarty Pants, I think Pry3 was asking if this is the same student as the one who badgered you during class while taking the exam, wanting to have you tell him/her which formula to use (this post is a few pages back).

Is the student who wrote the email the same one that complained during the exam?

[elizabeth40]

I got this email one week after the first two assingments were due. There was no signature.

I registered for ur class but i still cannot fin the assignments on blackboard????? email me back to this email cuz its my girlfriends... thx

[professor_pat]

OK, this one's not an email, but it does fit in with the tone of this thread. So maybe it only counts as h-em-ijacking?

About half of my science labs are field exercises, half indoor-lab exercises. Two students, who incidentally were 2/3 of another student's lab team that day, never showed up for our (inside) lab this week. They came to my office right after lab was over saying they couldn't find us. They had gone to where we meet for our field trips, and had gone to our classroom...but it didn't occur to them to check our regular lab room, not only listed on the syllabus but where we had already had several labs this quarter!!

They asked when they could make up the lab, therefore making my day not only easier by their absence but also more full of hilarity!