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

[the_geneticist]

Me in lab: "This is a lab coats, safety glasses *at all times* lab . . . . water bottles in your bag or out in the hall . . . "
Stu: takes big drink from water bottle.
Me: You can't do that in here.  Please put the bottle in your bag or in the hall.
Stu: *smirks*

I took their bottle and put it in the hall.  We'll see if it stays there.

[EdnaMode]

Me in lab: "This is a lab coats, safety glasses *at all times* lab . . . . water bottles in your bag or out in the hall . . . "
Stu: takes big drink from water bottle.
Me: You can't do that in here.  Please put the bottle in your bag or in the hall.
Stu: *smirks*

I took their bottle and put it in the hall.  We'll see if it stays there.

I have in my syllabus that if they violate lab safety rules (including no food or drink) they are banned from the lab and they might as well drop the class because if they can't do the lab work, they cannot pass. And the students can only access the lab via swipe card so I can prevent them from entering. Yes, another student could let them in, but it's also in the syllabus and in the official lab safety rules for the school of engineering that if a student allows entry to another student who does not have the right to be in there, then they may lose their lab privileges also. I caught students eating in my* lab once, horribly close to a caustic chemical bath, and banned them. They were students in another professor's class and he supported their ban. It may sound harsh but many/most of our labs, including mine, have equipment and/or chemicals that could cause serious bodily harm if safety protocol isn't followed.

*I say 'my' lab because all of our labs have a faculty member who is in charge of safety, equipment, repairs, EHS inspections, etc. in that lab even if we're not the only people who teach in there. If I were teaching in someone else's lab, I'd notify the person in charge of that lab if anything was broken, or missing, or if I needed any help with equipment, etc. It's just easier to have one person who coordinates everything for a particular lab.

[apl68]

If these lab students are trying for careers in places where following protocols are necessary to prevent disasters from happening, then it's well for us all that they don't get to advance without learning to take their protocols seriously.  Keep it up, EdnaMode!

[EdnaMode]

If these lab students are trying for careers in places where following protocols are necessary to prevent disasters from happening, then it's well for us all that they don't get to advance without learning to take their protocols seriously.  Keep it up, EdnaMode!

Thanks. I don't want to be a great big meanie, but sometimes we all have to come across that way to keep the students (and faculty) safe. We need them to think about safety all the time. A combination of our location, and our industrial partners who hire a lot of our students, leads to many of our graduates ending up working in high-risk environments including foundries, the oil and gas industry, and industries that make large moving and/or spinning things so safety is paramount if they are out in the field or in a manufacturing facility, not just a safe little cubicle. Unfortunately, we had a former student killed in an industrial accident a couple years ago. It was something that was caused by a series of human errors and was ultimately preventable. Still breaks my heart, he was a fine young man, a hard worker, who almost always had a smile on his face.

[smallcleanrat]

Me in lab: "This is a lab coats, safety glasses *at all times* lab . . . . water bottles in your bag or out in the hall . . . "
Stu: takes big drink from water bottle.
Me: You can't do that in here.  Please put the bottle in your bag or in the hall.
Stu: *smirks*

Oh, wow.

Why do people act this way?

[mythbuster]

And that is why EdnaMode insists on "No capes!" Keep up the good work Edna- from a fellow safety stickler.

[EdnaMode]

And that is why EdnaMode insists on "No capes!" Keep up the good work Edna- from a fellow safety stickler.

Definitely no capes 😁

[kaysixteen]

Is it SOP to suspend online course access mid-semester for tuition snafus?   Bad look.

[Caracal]

Is it SOP to suspend online course access mid-semester for tuition snafus?   Bad look.

Usually for me, it's because students haven't turned in their vaccine documentation (long predates COVID and in some cases I think they are vaccinated and just haven't done paperwork despite repeated warnings) but it usually happens in the first couple weeks.

[Parasaurolophus]

Is it SOP to suspend online course access mid-semester for tuition snafus?   Bad look.

Here, they get booted from the course by the reg office. But that's in the first week or so.

[the_geneticist]

We have a 3 day weekend coming up!

How many of your students do you think will be absent on Friday?

I'm guessing the Friday afternoon discussions will be very sparsely attended.  And that I'll get emails begging me to excuse them from the participation points because they HAD to leave early to be on vacation.

[fishbrains]

Is it SOP to suspend online course access mid-semester for tuition snafus?   Bad look.

We had a couple of fairly intense meetings where we suggested that retention (or the lack thereof) had a lot to do with this kind of crap. To the administration's credit, they made some helpful changes to the college's processes.

[mythbuster]

Student who scored the lowest score on the first exam comes up to me after class. " My parents gave me a cruise for my birthday. Nonrefundable. It's during the week of our next exam. Can I take the exam the day after everyone since I don't get back until 6pm on exam day?"
   I actually said yes. Given that on the first exam she scored in the 30s, it will make no difference. I might as well get the brownie points for "being accommodating". Good luck studying for the exam while on the cruise.

[downer]

Student who scored the lowest score on the first exam comes up to me after class. " My parents gave me a cruise for my birthday. Nonrefundable. It's during the week of our next exam. Can I take the exam the day after everyone since I don't get back until 6pm on exam day?"
   I actually said yes. Given that on the first exam she scored in the 30s, it will make no difference. I might as well get the brownie points for "being accommodating". Good luck studying for the exam while on the cruise.

No good deed goes unpunished. Hope it doesn't come back to haunt you.

[the_geneticist]

Student who scored the lowest score on the first exam comes up to me after class. " My parents gave me a cruise for my birthday. Nonrefundable. It's during the week of our next exam. Can I take the exam the day after everyone since I don't get back until 6pm on exam day?"
   I actually said yes. Given that on the first exam she scored in the 30s, it will make no difference. I might as well get the brownie points for "being accommodating". Good luck studying for the exam while on the cruise.

Sounds like a plan to me.  I would be tempted to put the exam online and say "take it while on the cruise".  You know they have wifi.