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[polly_mer]

I was just forwarded this blog post: http://chronicle.com/blognetwork/castingoutnines/2012/01/18/what-i-learned-in-2011-there-is-always-a-backstory/

While I agree with the sentiment of teaching the students we have and remembering that students are people, not numbers, I don't agree with the implied conclusion about a professor's responsibility being to find out the backstory on everyone instead of recording the results of their behaviors.

Over the years, I have been converted to the LarryC-school-of-humane-policies since students do have complicated lives and some things are more flexible than I originally thought.  I can hold the line on performance while building some reasonable flexibility into the course for those who have a rough week either all at once or spread over the term.

On the other hand, one of the very attractive parts of that professorial school was the clear conscience that comes with recording the consequences of actions.  While I do take the advisor part of being a professor seriously, the day doesn't have enough hours in it for me to track down all of the people who missed class to find out why they missed, especially for people who have patterns that are inconsistent with someone who is trying to be a good student. 

With the knowledge that time and energy are limited, should I really try to find the lost sheep or should I concentrate on the ten students who know they are lost and show up regularly to get as much help as I can give them?  The blog post was forwarded to me because our university is making a huge push on retention.  However, what I learned from last semester's new policies on recordkeeping and notification was that I can chew up a lot of time chasing and recording that chase for students who don't give a rip about their schooling.  Almost none of the students was missing lots of class because of severe life circumstances that needed counseling, medical care, or some other social services help; instead those students often should not have been admitted to university and the best thing for them would be a solid "you don't seem like you want to be in school right now.  Why not go do something else for a few years and come back when you know why you want to be in school?"

What do other people think?

[educator1]

Yes, we all have back stories and there are a large variety of reasons why students do what they do (or don't do). The examples are touching but I doubt that the author learned any of these stories without the student taking the initiative of speaking with him. When that happens, I will do all that I possible can to help, refer to other sources of help and to try to find alternative means of exlaining the material. I cannot, however, actively investigate the "backstory" of all of my students nor do I expect that many would appreciate my attempt to do so without their seeking my assistance first.
I agree with the "humane policies" concept and constantly strive to modify my policies so that a student that demonstrates mastery of the material and is prepared to move on is not unduly penalized by the many life experiences that can get in the way of interim assessments. These include replacing exam grades with the final, dropping the lowest quiz grades, not counting attendance, etc. This gets students out of the necessity of begging me for a make-up and/or forgiveness and gets me out of the business of making value judgements for students.
With these policies in place, I can feel comfortable with recording a grade that indicates the degree of mastery that a student has accomplished. If students have not mastered sufficient content to move on, they should not, regardless of the reason for it. THAT would be the ultimate disservice.

[jackofallchem]

I too, cringe when I see such articles because experience has taught me to expect an administrator to demand that we start documenting that we checked to see why each student skipped class, why each missing assignment was missed, and why each late paper was late.  After that, we will be expected to file a report on each incident including what we did to help the student fix whatever problem they were having, track the success % of our solutions, and track the rate of change of the success % of our solutions.

I put these situations in my 'advisor mode', not my 'professor mode'.  I try to help people with time management skills, guide them to tutoring, make them aware of scholarships, on-campus and off-campus jobs if they are having money problems, and give them any advice I can to help them succeed.  However, I am not going to try to track down every student who has a late assignment.  For people with serious, mitigating circumstances, I recommend incompletes.  For people with so many long term problems that they can't complete their work and likely will not be able to for several semesters, I suggest they leave school.  If you have three kids who are chronically ill, a husband who works and travels constantly, and relatives that you need to drop everything for and go tend to 4 or 5 times a week, you are wasting your time and money in school.  Either wait until your life calms down enough for you to handle college or rearrange your priorities. 

[betterslac]

I too, cringe when I see such articles because experience has taught me to expect an administrator to demand that we start documenting that we checked to see why each student skipped class, why each missing assignment was missed, and why each late paper was late.  After that, we will be expected to file a report on each incident including what we did to help the student fix whatever problem they were having, track the success % of our solutions, and track the rate of change of the success % of our solutions.

I put these situations in my 'advisor mode', not my 'professor mode'.  I try to help people with time management skills, guide them to tutoring, make them aware of scholarships, on-campus and off-campus jobs if they are having money problems, and give them any advice I can to help them succeed.  However, I am not going to try to track down every student who has a late assignment.  For people with serious, mitigating circumstances, I recommend incompletes.  For people with so many long term problems that they can't complete their work and likely will not be able to for several semesters, I suggest they leave school.  If you have three kids who are chronically ill, a husband who works and travels constantly, and relatives that you need to drop everything for and go tend to 4 or 5 times a week, you are wasting your time and money in school.  Either wait until your life calms down enough for you to handle college or rearrange your priorities. 

+1

And for those who don't come to class, do assignments, etc. because they just don't care, the hand holding that is being pushed will a) turn universities into elementary schools and b) convert professors into another species of helicopters.

Sh!t happens and I take that into account with my students. I'm the most liberal professor I know for taking late assignments and allowing incompletes that are caused by life circumstances. But for the most part, students just need to put on their big boy/girl britches and begin taking responsibility for themselves. That means doing work, showing up for classes and soberly assessing whether their life circumstances make seriously pursuing postsecondary education possible. Sometimes caring for family members and other responsibilities are more important.

As it is has been put in other contexts, it does no good for us to care more about the education/life circumstances of students than they care themselves. We can provide advice, but whether they act on it is up to them. The in loco parentis model is dead and should not be resurrected in zombified form.

[oldfullprof]

My advisor side has been truncated by the students themselves.  They can barely sit still for 15 minutes of advising.  I am very good at accomodation, even for purely mental health issues, however. 

[dr_alcott]

Here's the objectionable part of the blog: " . . . part of my job is to learn that backstory — possibly piece by piece over the course of the semester — and put it to use."

I like knowing my students' stories as much as the next guy, but it's definitely not my job to learn it. Nor is the backstory always relevant.

Nor is it ever my right to know it. My students have a right to keep their stories to themselves.

[plasmodesmata]

Here's the objectionable part of the blog: " . . . part of my job is to learn that backstory — possibly piece by piece over the course of the semester — and put it to use."

I like knowing my students' stories as much as the next guy, but it's definitely not my job to learn it. Nor is the backstory always relevant.

Nor is it ever my right to know it. My students have a right to keep their stories to themselves.

Dr. Alcott, I completely agree that it is not our job as professors to learn the backstories and it is also true that students have the right to not share said stories. I will take this a step further and say it is my job to recognize that students do indeed have backstories. In many instances, such as the ill student the blog author mentioned, I am required to immediately contact the counseling center. Even in circumstances similar to the other examples presented, the students might best be served by someone other than myself. I consider it my job to know where students can go to find appropriate resources, not to provide those resources myself.