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

[darkstarrynight]

Students were required to submit internship sites and supervisor contact by May 10. My department head got an email today from a student asking what the requirements are, and 10 minutes later the student wrote me "I decided to work with ______ and please give me permission to enroll." I wrote ______ to ask if that is really the case, since that supervisor is already supervising another student who was also late and took care of this a week ago (and yes, these are graduate students). Sigh.

Update: the supervisor received an email from the student after they told me they had an internship to ask if they can work with that person! What a sneaky student. The supervisor declined, so the student miraculously found a different internship today, emailed me after 5 PM about it, and demanded to be given permission to enroll before I confirmed anything. Sigh.

Wow, just Wow!!

Is this a student that you see F2F??  Used to be that the response to such shenanigans began with a verbal warning about unprofessional behavior - and the guaranteed negative effects it would have on LoRs if not corrected.

Of course, since this is already at the internship level, that time may have passed.

And, now there's been a (probable) second attempt to sneak into the appearance of -- what? compliance? progress? ...? combined with a DEMAND that you allow it??!!? 

I wouldn't cut the brat any slack.

I had never met the student before that I could recall, as I only teach second-year masters students in this program. Luckily for them, the supervisor confirmed and the student enrolled before my class met this morning. All students showed up on time, and this one actually participated a lot. I guess there is hope, though they did ask a strange question in class. I explained how students log their hours and activities for the internship which requires supervisor approval. The student asked if they have to write what they do each time at the site "if it is always the same." That seemed odd, because their internship plan due in two weeks requires a list of goals, competencies, and activities they plan to accomplish, and there is not just one thing to repeat over and over again on a log form if there is a plan...!?!?

[lightning]

I wish the AMA would just come out and declare such a thing as deadline allergies. I'll roll with the "no deadlines" thing, but let's just all stop pretending and call it what it is and let a student say "I'm allergic to deadlines."

[apl68]

I wish the AMA would just come out and declare such a thing as deadline allergies. I'll roll with the "no deadlines" thing, but let's just all stop pretending and call it what it is and let a student say "I'm allergic to deadlines."

While they're at it, they could also officially recognize the Monday-morning flu.  Fortunately we haven't had any staff members here get that recently.

[bio-nonymous]

Why oh why, can students never figure out where my lab/office is? They could look it up (department website? university website? ask their phone AI)? Heck if you google my name my lab website comes up! It is listed in my email signatures to them. It is on the syllabi. It is in presentations I give to potential mentees. BUT inevitably, after a long email train (with multiple signatures of mine containing my location) when we finally agree to meet at a given time, the next email is always, "Where is your lab located?". UGGGGG!!!! It is so frustrating. It is like they are helpless to figure out things on their own even with simple clues staring them in the face.

[the_geneticist]

I wish the AMA would just come out and declare such a thing as deadline allergies. I'll roll with the "no deadlines" thing, but let's just all stop pretending and call it what it is and let a student say "I'm allergic to deadlines."

Ironically, many students NEED the firm deadlines to make them sit down & do stuff.
I'd rather have a "one time pass" to remove a lateness penalty on one assignment & give it to everyone.  Or things like "The top 8 quiz scores count for your grade, the lowest 2 are dropped & can't hurt your grade". 

I really dislike when "flexible deadlines" = the student WILL be behind.  Sometimes you have to have deadlines for pedagogy or logical reasons.  I will die on the hill of pre-lab assignments are due at the start of your lab section.  The entire point is so that students are prepared for lab.  Do I let students participate if they don't have their pre-lab? Yes, I do.  Do I let them turn it in late? Not for points. 

[lightning]

I wish the AMA would just come out and declare such a thing as deadline allergies. I'll roll with the "no deadlines" thing, but let's just all stop pretending and call it what it is and let a student say "I'm allergic to deadlines."

Ironically, many students NEED the firm deadlines to make them sit down & do stuff.
I'd rather have a "one time pass" to remove a lateness penalty on one assignment & give it to everyone.  Or things like "The top 8 quiz scores count for your grade, the lowest 2 are dropped & can't hurt your grade". 

I really dislike when "flexible deadlines" = the student WILL be behind.  Sometimes you have to have deadlines for pedagogy or logical reasons.  I will die on the hill of pre-lab assignments are due at the start of your lab section.  The entire point is so that students are prepared for lab.  Do I let students participate if they don't have their pre-lab? Yes, I do.  Do I let them turn it in late? Not for points. 

Yup! The students that need firm deadlines the most to help structure their academic life, are the same students who are enabled to avoid them. Again, I'm fine with no deadlines for the students that don't want them, but an official deadline allergy which allows students to have no deadlines instead of faculty trying to manage multiple deadline timelines and multiple timeline expectations within one class, would give all stakeholders what they want.

[Parasaurolophus]

I just plugged all the dates into my Fall syllabi. Because of various statutory holidays, one of my Monday classes will miss... 4 weeks?!

[lightning]

I just plugged all the dates into my Fall syllabi. Because of various statutory holidays, one of my Monday classes will miss... 4 weeks?!

I would consider that a gift.

[Langue_doc]

I just plugged all the dates into my Fall syllabi. Because of various statutory holidays, one of my Monday classes will miss... 4 weeks?!

Check your academic calender--here at least two Wednesdays would follow a Monday schedule as far as courses are concerned.

[FishProf]

Summer online class ends friday.  Got an email today.

"I am having an issue with the website I can't login and see any of my ebooks nor can I see the website with all of the course work that I have submitted/havn't submitted yet"

Last logged on: 4Aug.
Work completed: 6 of 75 quizzes.

This looks like a failed ploy to get an incomplete.

Why do students do this to themselves?

[treeoflife]

Summer online classes ended and School is starting next week. This is the first week with no classes for me since forever.

[the_geneticist]

Summer online class ends friday.  Got an email today.

"I am having an issue with the website I can't login and see any of my ebooks nor can I see the website with all of the course work that I have submitted/havn't submitted yet"

Last logged on: 4Aug.
Work completed: 6 of 75 quizzes.

This looks like a failed ploy to get an incomplete.

Why do students do this to themselves?

I'm glad that our policy is that we can give Incompletes only if*:
1. the student had a life-complication (surgery, illness, homeless, etc.)
2. the student was PASSING the class when said complication happened
3. the student & faculty agree on a plan for what stu needs to complete & when they will do so.

It's a kindness for students who are in a real crisis.  Otherwise, just report the grade they earned and call it done. 

*one exception: if a student is being investigated for academic misconduct, they get an Incomplete until the misconduct investigation ends.  Prevents students from dropping a class to avoid the misconduct charges.

[AmLitHist]

I had a new student add my class earlier in the week, raised hell with the Registrar's office (as add/drop week ended last Friday), and found that someone in advising was giving late overrides left and right. I heard that the Registrar landed on Advising with both feet and made extremely clear that there are no overrides allowed after add/drop, period, and none after the first class meeting without the express approval of the instructor--which the union has drummed into all of us we should NOT grant.

We get automatic emails from the registrar at 5 p.m. every day to show us that day's add/drop activity.

I got another ADD in yesterday's report - at the end of WEEK 2 of the fall semester.

(I've heard from several colleagues that they've been getting students plopped in their classes all week, too.)

With the long weekend, I get to be the meanie and tell the student she'll be dropped on Tuesday when business starts up again.

I'm not banging my head, but I'd like to smash one or more heads in Advising. Of course, nothing will be done to them, since we're all about getting our numbers up. Let me miss a comma in some BS form I have to submit to Admin, though, and all hell will break loose.

[AmLitHist]

Sorry for the double, but I seem to have set a record:

I have a guy in one of my 102 sections who is taking the class for the TENTH time. (I am not making this up.) He withdrew once and failed the other 8 times. At my CC, that's well over $3,000 spent just on this one class that he doesn't look likely to pass this time, either. I guess mom/dad just keep writing the checks.

Please send prayers (or, better yet, bourbon. PM me for the delivery address). 

[fishbrains]

Yeah, a while back (before Covid) they started doing the late-add thing by putting these students into our internet courses because they thought it would be easier for students to catch up in an internet class--even if they had never taken an online class before. I $hit you not.

It took a somewhat ugly meeting between the Senate and higher-ups to change the practice. T seeo the admins' credit, they did stop the practice.