Topic: Bang Your Head on Your Desk - the thread of teaching despair!

[Stockmann]

One of my students, who on the plus side actually seeks help (on the minus side, stood me up last time he made an appointment), has asked me, twice now, if he's somehow exempt from the final, because another instructor, in another department, teaching a different course, is exempting those who are doing OK from the final. This student isn't doing well in my course and in fact failed the latest exam - it's worse than him not figuring our different courses have different rules, even if the final were only for those doing badly, then it definitely would be for him. I basically regurgitated what's on the syllabus about how grades are calculated for this course - it's not even hard, half their grade is their quiz average, half is the exam average, including the final.

ETA: He's failed half the quizzes, too. I have no idea where he gets the idea he might be exempt from the final, since extrapolating from his performance, at most he'll manage a C in the course and he has a high risk of failing.

[apl68]

I got an email from a student saying they "just saw my email about not taking the final" and wondering if it's too late to do anything.

I didn't email Stu about not taking the Final last week (two other students, yes.  This student, no).
In fact, Stu isn't even in my class.
Stu isn't in any of the other [Intro to Baskets] classes either.

Stu is apparently just NOW realizing they didn't take the final in their [Intro to Baskets] in SPRING 2022.

Apparently "email me ASAP" = about six or so months later. 

Yeah, it's too late to do anything now.

Why is it that I continue having nightmares about doing things like this (One just a couple of nights ago), even though I haven't been in school in years, and never actually pulled anything like this when I was?

[dr_evil]

It's the week before finals and I have the people who are suddenly concerned about their grades. The worst was the person last week that, not getting the extra points they were begging for, started rapid-firing questions at me and accusing me of embarrassing them. Such a "fun" time of year.

[secundem_artem]

I got an email from a student saying they "just saw my email about not taking the final" and wondering if it's too late to do anything.

I didn't email Stu about not taking the Final last week (two other students, yes.  This student, no).
In fact, Stu isn't even in my class.
Stu isn't in any of the other [Intro to Baskets] classes either.

Stu is apparently just NOW realizing they didn't take the final in their [Intro to Baskets] in SPRING 2022.

Apparently "email me ASAP" = about six or so months later. 

Yeah, it's too late to do anything now.

Now, that's impressive... Dang!

Accreditation standards in my discipline require a variety of co-curricular activities that students document on a website.  Faculty get emails informing us that we have X students who need to have their co-curriculars assessed and our evaluations of such posted.  This is a big waste of everybody's time and shows how bat shit crazy our accrediting body is.  But..... it's required.

I put off doing this as long as possible.  So at one point, I was cleaning out my email inbox when I stumbled across an old one of those "you have co-curriculars to assess".  At which point I went into the web site and found my assigned work.

Only to find that the students I had to evaluate had graduated the previous semester.  It's not just students who occasionally need access to a time machine.

[the_geneticist]

I got an email from a student saying they "just saw my email about not taking the final" and wondering if it's too late to do anything.

I didn't email Stu about not taking the Final last week (two other students, yes.  This student, no).
In fact, Stu isn't even in my class.
Stu isn't in any of the other [Intro to Baskets] classes either.

Stu is apparently just NOW realizing they didn't take the final in their [Intro to Baskets] in SPRING 2022.

Apparently "email me ASAP" = about six or so months later. 

Yeah, it's too late to do anything now.

Why is it that I continue having nightmares about doing things like this (One just a couple of nights ago), even though I haven't been in school in years, and never actually pulled anything like this when I was?

I used to have those dreams too!  Now they have morphed into a version where I'm trying to teach, but I can't write on the board/my students keep leaving/I can't find the supplies.

What's particularly impressive for this student is that they SHOULD have noticed their failure when they were dropped from the next course in the series when grades were reported to the Registrar.  Grades were posted in June.  Stu could have repeated the course in Summer.  Or in Fall. 
Stu is now 2 quarters behind on finishing the [Intro to Baskets] courses they need for their major.  I'm glad I'm not their academic advisor. 

[AmLitHist]

Yesterday I drove all the way to campus in dense fog, feeling relatively rotten with a sinus headache, to teach my Comp II class that's down to just 6 students remaining. I was already grumpy because only one of them had turned in the rough draft due Saturday night in Canvas--and that one only submitted one paragraph of an assigned 1500 words. 

I went to class at 11:00.  ONE student showed up long enough to tell me she wasn't going to be in class and then left.

[Istiblennius]

Students are learning the hard way that I can use the LMS logs to check whether or not they "submitted the assignment and something went wrong". It's hard to submit the assignment when you haven't logged in during the week you claim you submitted.

[RatGuy]

For the essay component in my students' final projects, I have them a list of six texts and asked them to respond to two of them. A surprising number have chosen something else to write about. As if I wouldn't notice.

[onehappyunicorn]

Students are learning the hard way that I can use the LMS logs to check whether or not they "submitted the assignment and something went wrong". It's hard to submit the assignment when you haven't logged in during the week you claim you submitted.

Yes, I have a student who has missed multiple classes recently who emailed to insist that they were keeping up with everything in blackboard, they last logged in November 5th...

[the_geneticist]

Students are learning the hard way that I can use the LMS logs to check whether or not they "submitted the assignment and something went wrong". It's hard to submit the assignment when you haven't logged in during the week you claim you submitted.

Yes, I have a student who has missed multiple classes recently who emailed to insist that they were keeping up with everything in blackboard, they last logged in November 5th...

One of the few things I like about having most materials online is the fact that I can EASILY check if/when students submitted their work.

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

FIVE minutes after I entered final exam grades (not final grades), one of my failing students emailed me demanding to know stu's final grade, etc. I had to bite my tongue and politely respond with my usual 'I'm not done yet' email.

[apl68]

Students are learning the hard way that I can use the LMS logs to check whether or not they "submitted the assignment and something went wrong". It's hard to submit the assignment when you haven't logged in during the week you claim you submitted.

"Wait a minute--you have to log into the LMS to submit the assignment?  So that's why it kept failing to go through!"

[Parasaurolophus]

One student couldn't submit his essay on the LMS, and sent me a corrupted file (mmhmm).

He also sent me screenshots showing that the problem he's having is he hasn't accepted Turnitin's EULA. He's at the screen and doesn't know how to proceed forward (i.e. hit 'accept').

[Puget]

One student couldn't submit his essay on the LMS, and sent me a corrupted file (mmhmm).

He also sent me screenshots showing that the problem he's having is he hasn't accepted Turnitin's EULA. He's at the screen and doesn't know how to proceed forward (i.e. hit 'accept').

I've had students submit "corrupted files" before-- somehow when I give them a chance to submit a readable file they tend to never respond. . .

[FishProf]

The week before TGiving break, I gave my students a choice - Do Lectures XYZ, OR Listen to Audiobook Q and take quizzes on the chapters.

They unanimously chose the audio book.

Now they are complaining that questions about the book are on the End-Term exam and that they didn't have time to read it.

The why did you CHOOSE that?

Reply to "Corrupted files" - And THIS is why the syllabus says you have to upload to the CMS and then CHECK that your file went through.  Also, this is why PDF.