polly_mer, Oh, this one's a piece of work. He failed out of this place three years ago and disappeared. As such he was readmitted on a "probationary status" (means he's got money) and showed up in my class (2nd time) this Fall, telling me he had "grown up" since he had been gone.
Some highlights from the semester:
1. Argued/didn't understand every policy/set of instructions on the first day of class when we went over the syllabus. No matter what it was, he didn't like/understand it.
2. Could/would not use Blackboard. Missed assignments and tests (my fault as instructions weren't clear), got angry that he wasn't successful when trying to take a test (essay included) on his phone while riding in a car, tried to take a major test at 3:00AM when Bb is always down for maintenance (bold printed in the syllabus, still my fault though), etc. etc. etc.
3. Argued endlessly about his wrong answers on work. Always had some convoluted reason why his answer was "better" than the correct one. This includes multiple choice and T/F questions. None of this was done in my office as he was only on campus when actually in class and had no time to meet because of "work".
4. Made a (fairly) rare appearance in class on a day when half the students were gone for a required performance off-campus. He asked me in front of the remaining students if the empty seats were because "no one likes your class?".
5. Called me "anal retentive" in class one day when I repeated my late policy for the, admittedly, umpteenth time. He then turned his assignment in late.
6. Told me that several of his absences were excused because he was required by law to be in court and had no choice. When I asked if he had jury duty he said "no, I'm just suing some people."
7. Demanded that his absence on the last day of class be excused as he had been in jail and CERTAINLY had no choice. Turns out he had sent some guy to the emergency room for saying the wrong thing to his girlfriend in some bar. I did excuse that one. With a 26% it made no difference and I wasn't going to argue about it until the Rapture.
There's plenty more but but I need to get a couple of drinks down before my therapy appointment. BTW, all of the above drama was carried out in the form of endless emails (remember, he had no time for f2f meetings). I hit him, hard, with a cluebat around midterm time and sent him an electronic "come to Jesus" talk. It just riled him up and made him doubly determined.
If he manages (and he might) to stay in the department, I will have him for class this Spring. Seeing his name your roster is like dying and going to Hell.
For those of you who have read through to the end of this rant, I salute you. I'm sorry for the length, being a newbie and all, but I have to say GOD THAT FELT GOOD!!
Many thanks and Happy New Year!
The goddess, what a nightmare. And it sounds like your chair is a piece of work as well ("clients"???)
