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

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

Got an email at 6am from a student who said that stu's parent has been ill. Unfortunately, stu has not turned in six lab reports (corresponding to the past three weeks) and wants to do it now. I asked for documentation. Student responded with pleading. I'm not sure what to believe, but why the hell do they wait until the last damn minute? Today is the last day of class.

Because they want an incomplete rather than an F. Why do today what you can put off until tomorrow?

Stu didn't ask for one, but maybe that was implied?

Edit: Actually, stu emailed me at 3:30 this morning. I plan to mention that there are emergency withdrawals (which can be taken a year after the fact), but I cannot accommodate missing three weeks of work.

[downer]

At the start of any term, and especially in short ones, I emphasize at the start that students need to be in communication with me early on about problems they are experiencing that interferes with their work. When a student comes up with an excuse right at the end when they haven't been in communication with me, I say sorry, it's too late now. The only exceptions I allow are when the student gets their faculty advisor or some equivalent person to vouch for them, or they have strong documentation of their problems. Even then, I know the chances are that the Incomplete will just turn into a Fail.

[mamselle]

The one time I had to take an incomplete, my instructor said, "Since these usually turn into 'F's,' my rule is that if the material isn't made up by mid-term week, it's an automatic fail."

I got it done and turned in a week later (which was all I'd needed, anyway).

M.

[paddington_bear]

The (growing) disconnect between admin and faculty (and staff) is frustrating. How does the admin expect to keep asking faculty to do more with less? And then be surprised when faculty don't want to do more? "You don't want to take on this new service activity even though you won't get a course release and you will be taking a pay cut from another position you took?" "Your job is so important to the campus. Here are more things you can do in your job, even though we're not going to give you any support staff to help!!" Every time I start to regret that I didn't take some full-time opportunities on campus, I'm reminded by someone or something that for my own sanity, it's a good thing I didn't!

[mamselle]

The bricks-and straw mismatch famously led one clientele of workers to depart.

If I recall, you've considered an Exodus of your own from time to time.

Has that time come?

(Prod-prod...)

M.

[paddington_bear]

The bricks-and straw mismatch famously led one clientele of workers to depart.

If I recall, you've considered an Exodus of your own from time to time.

Has that time come?

(Prod-prod...)

M.

I know I just said that I'm glad that I didn't take the admin position - and I am - but I probably screwed myself. Every semester/year I'm not doing it, I'm losing experience that I could have used to show that I have X number of years experience. I don't know how I get more experience that other places want so I'll probably stay in the faculty ranks.

[mamselle]

Or, are there any angled, lateral moves that might provide an off-ramp?

Just pondering...

M.

[paddington_bear]

In my head there are! But I'm still on lots of job sites and I don't really come across them that often.

[Stockmann]

I had a student approach me about having a scheduling conflict for the midterms - saying she had a midterm at the same time as our Friday class and therefore a conflict between that midterm and our Friday quiz. This is slightly suspicious because most midterms are held after regular classes, but not all so it's possible in principle. This student, instead of talking to me, went to talk to administrators - who told her to talk to me. The real kicker? I've repeatedly announced in class, and it's on the syllabus, that we don't have a Friday quiz on midterms week. We have a midterm. On Wednesday. So there's no conflict in the first place.

[Thursday's_Child]

I had a student approach me about having a scheduling conflict for the midterms - saying she had a midterm at the same time as our Friday class and therefore a conflict between that midterm and our Friday quiz. This is slightly suspicious because most midterms are held after regular classes, but not all so it's possible in principle. This student, instead of talking to me, went to talk to administrators - who told her to talk to me. The real kicker? I've repeatedly announced in class, and it's on the syllabus, that we don't have a Friday quiz on midterms week. We have a midterm. On Wednesday. So there's no conflict in the first place.

So many possible reasons for this....
- Maybe she wanted a long weekend?
- Would a single much-improved quiz grade (due to some focused study) really change the class grade?
- Etc.

Instead, we learn that she doesn't read or remember the syllabus, doesn't have a planner to keep her organized & on track, doesn't pay attention in (or maybe attend?) class, and has no idea of how to correctly work with a chain-of-command.

One of the normal benefits of a traditional college experience is getting lots of opportunities to learn about all of these things in an environment that is usually lower-stakes and more supportive than an actual job traditionally is.

[Stockmann]

She does attend class, so I guess she just doesn't pay attention. Also, if she doesn't take the midterm, the final just replaces the midterm - and yes, it's in the syllabus - so even if she had had a conflict with the midterm, there's kind of an in-built solution.
Turns out that she has a conflict for the final instead - which is also kind of a non-issue since if she misses the final it's replaced by a weighted average of other stuff (yeah, policies for the recurring-covid-waves era...) - this is also on the syllabus.

[Anon1787]

<rant>Why am I spending hours gathering primary sources and ensuring that they have been edited down to bite-sized morsels when most students still won't read them? (The textbook is a useful supplement, not a substitute.)</rant>

[the_geneticist]

I'm having to say "I can't care more than they do".
Almost 1/4 of the class hasn't turned in an easy assignment that they need as part of their class project.  Their TAs reminded them, I reminded them.  They can turn it in late with a small penalty. 
They seem so ready to be done with Summer classes.  I'm ready to be done too! 
But the class has 4 more weeks.

[RatGuy]

I wish I could get one of my summer students to understand that assignments are due in class. He realizes that he's forgotten to do an assignment, so he scrambles in the wake of class to finish it. Then he does not put it in my mailbox in the department -- he just crams it in the crack in my office door. But I share an office with two other folks, and random papers sometimes gets lost. Now he's claiming he submitted his final paper (late) to my office door, but no one seems to know where it is.

[Puget]

I wish I could get one of my summer students to understand that assignments are due in class. He realizes that he's forgotten to do an assignment, so he scrambles in the wake of class to finish it. Then he does not put it in my mailbox in the department -- he just crams it in the crack in my office door. But I share an office with two other folks, and random papers sometimes gets lost. Now he's claiming he submitted his final paper (late) to my office door, but no one seems to know where it is.

This is why I only allow submissions on the CMS (and tell them they are responsible for checking it actually went through)-- everything is logged and time stamped, so no arguments.