The Fora: A Higher Education Community

The problem I run into with dropping the lowest score is I see too many students blow though the freebie in the first week or two of class. They can't seem to grasp that planning as if you are NOT going to have zero is a better approach.

Ever heard of gallows humor?

Quote from: dismalist on October 11, 2024, 02:16:17 PM

Quote from: secundem_artem on October 11, 2024, 01:03:21 PMIf I ever get killed in a hurricane, I hope it's named Butch or Zeke.  Getting creamed by a storm named Milton is just vaguely kinda embarrassing. 

No, it's pro-choice! Hurricane Milton could be associated with Milton Friedman, who anyone may or may not like, or with Milton Keynes, a planned town in England, whose name others may or may not like. Me, I like both! I hope neither kills me as well, though.

Perhaps move this to the asides thread--I wouldn't be quite so flippant about the death and destruction resulting from both storms, especially seeing people swept off rooftops and cars to their death during Helene.

QuoteLive Updates: Power Outages and Long Gas Lines Add to Misery After Milton
Millions across Florida were still without power, including many gas stations, sending residents scrambling for fuel. At least 14 people were killed, though none by storm surge, indicating that evacuations had saved lives.

QuoteStill Searching for Their Loved Ones, a Week After Hurricane Helene
The storm's death toll has climbed past 225, but many people remain unaccounted for and searching for them is complicated. Their families are desperate for answers.

Quote from: secundem_artem on October 11, 2024, 01:03:21 PMIf I ever get killed in a hurricane, I hope it's named Butch or Zeke.  Getting creamed by a storm named Milton is just vaguely kinda embarrassing. 

Maybe if storms had scarier names, more people would take them seriously.  Although at this point it seems like people generally do.

Quote from: secundem_artem on October 11, 2024, 01:03:21 PMIf I ever get killed in a hurricane, I hope it's named Butch or Zeke.  Getting creamed by a storm named Milton is just vaguely kinda embarrassing. 

No, it's pro-choice! Hurricane Milton could be associated with Milton Friedman, who anyone may or may not like, or with Milton Keynes, a planned town in England, whose name others may or may not like. Me, I like both! I hope neither kills me as well, though.

If I ever get killed in a hurricane, I hope it's named Butch or Zeke.  Getting creamed by a storm named Milton is just vaguely kinda embarrassing. 

Once again the Nobel Committee seems to have mislaid my contact details.

Paper was accepted!!!  Hooray!!  Only had to go through R&R once.

Nearly done the lit review for the next project.

Quote from: RatGuy on October 11, 2024, 08:46:26 AMStudent showed up today 45 minutes into a 50-minute class. Today was group presentations -- students had a homework to complete individually, and placed in groups based on the assigned topic. So he enters the class just as I'm wrapping up my conclusion. Then as students file out, turning in work, he asks "can I make up the group activity?" No, you've missed it.

He starts crying.

He tells me this story about a leak in his apartment as a reason for his absence. Says its not fair that it was out of his control. I say "that's why I drop the lowest grade." He says he's already got a number of other zeroes.

"Do you have your homework?"
No.
"Did you do a response on today's reading?"
No.
"It seems to me it's not just this one thing, is it?"

I'm sympathetic to students who struggle with extra-curricular stuff, but this is a kid who manages time poorly, doesn't attend regularly, and flails about with tears in his eyes anytime he's told he can't make up a missed assignment. It's totally draining.

Poor student is going through a lot, but we can't excuse them from actually *doing the work*.

I have become of fan of the "we drop everyone's lowest score, no reason needed" policy.  If a student has a rough week for any reason, they can shake it off.  There has to be a firm limit - at some point they will not have completed enough of the class to have actually earned the credit hours.

Pretty sure they can't agree: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2024/10/11/lawsuit-accuses-40-colleges-pricing-conspiracy