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

[Larimar]

A dishearteningly number of students are telling me "I know you said that the final would be open book and comprehensive, but I left my textbooks when I came home for Thanksgiving."

Fantasy answer to this: "That is something I can't do anything about. The exam will still occur as scheduled."

[marshwiggle]

A dishearteningly number of students are telling me "I know you said that the final would be open book and comprehensive, but I left my textbooks when I came home for Thanksgiving."

Fantasy answer to this: "That is something I can't do anything about. The exam will still occur as scheduled."

Why is that a fantasy?

[bopper]

A dishearteningly number of students are telling me "I know you said that the final would be open book and comprehensive, but I left my textbooks when I came home for Thanksgiving."

"I would suggest you ask your parents to Fed Ex them overnight to you."

[Langue_doc]

Persistent complainer submitted an assignment with an extra page, acknowledging that this was not part of the requirement, but asking for feedback on the same.

Stu, you know from experience that assignments that do not conform to the written requirements will lose points. I am not giving you feedback on a page that was not required.

[Larimar]

A dishearteningly number of students are telling me "I know you said that the final would be open book and comprehensive, but I left my textbooks when I came home for Thanksgiving."

Fantasy answer to this: "That is something I can't do anything about. The exam will still occur as scheduled."

Why is that a fantasy?

Because I am an adjunct, and being that blunt, "unhelpful", "mean", and "inflexible" in how I phrase things would not be politic, especially "during these difficult times".

[Puget]

I allow students to earn a "second chance card" to take a new version of one of the first two exams during finals by watching my nifty study strategies video and meeting with me to discuss how they will study differently this time. This is not itself what my head banging is about-- I like doing this both because I truly believe in second chances, and because it solves so many headaches for me (whatever their sad story is, there is a one-size, pre-made solution and I don't have to listen to special pleading).

The head banging is this-- I've had to talk three students who have an A- and one with a B+ in the course so far out of doing this to themselves rather than just focusing on the third exam and final assignment (and all their other classes, and you know, sleep and life). I have a whole song and dance about perfectionism I can do in my sleep now, but I wish I didn't have to do it so often.

Meanwhile, I have students with Ds who have not responded to repeated entreaties to meet with me before the end of the week to earn said second chance card, when the really, really need that second chance.

Same thing happens if I offer extra credit-- students with As do it, students who really need it do not. It's perverse, if predictable.

[marshwiggle]

Meanwhile, I have students with Ds who have not responded to repeated entreaties to meet with me before the end of the week to earn said second chance card, when the really, really need that second chance.

Same thing happens if I offer extra credit-- students with As do it, students who really need it do not. It's perverse, if predictable.

Decades ago, when my mom was an elementary school teacher, her lament about parents' night was that the parents of kids who were doing well always showed up, whereas the parents she really wanted to see, (i.e. those of kids who were struggling), never did.

[writingprof]

A dishearteningly number of students are telling me "I know you said that the final would be open book and comprehensive, but I left my textbooks when I came home for Thanksgiving."

Fantasy answer to this: "That is something I can't do anything about. The exam will still occur as scheduled."

Why is that a fantasy?

Indeed.  If that answer is too cruel to be delivered, we really are lost.  I've heard worse from kindergarten teachers.

[apl68]

Meanwhile, I have students with Ds who have not responded to repeated entreaties to meet with me before the end of the week to earn said second chance card, when the really, really need that second chance.

Same thing happens if I offer extra credit-- students with As do it, students who really need it do not. It's perverse, if predictable.

Decades ago, when my mom was an elementary school teacher, her lament about parents' night was that the parents of kids who were doing well always showed up, whereas the parents she really wanted to see, (i.e. those of kids who were struggling), never did.

Which, of course, suggests something about why the struggling students were struggling.

That said, we do hear stories on this thread now and then about "helicopter" parents who are, if anything, TOO involved in their students' work.

[OneMoreYear]

Next week (Dec 7-11) is finals week here.  I have individual virtual meetings with students in one of my classes during finals week. I sent an email to a student asking them to sent their availability during finals week. Students sends back their availability for the week of December 14th.  I know I've seriously hit a wall, but how can you not know that next week is finals week? I hope this student will sit for their finals. I did clarify which week was finals week for the student in hopes that that information will help them.

[Parasaurolophus]

I just got a notice of accommodation for a student who hasn't handed a single thing in all semester. I just figured she'd dropped.

I suppose an email to the student is in order. Ugh. (It's no big deal or anything, I just hate doing this sort of thing.)

[AvidReader]

At both current school and most recent past school, accommodations letters say and have said very clearly that they do not work retroactively. Hope yours works that way as well.

AR.

[Parasaurolophus]

At both current school and most recent past school, accommodations letters say and have said very clearly that they do not work retroactively. Hope yours works that way as well.

AR.

I wouldn't really mind that--most of the stuff would be auto-graded anyway. It's just a weird time to get the letter, and I don't relish the prospect of checking in with the student and then having more emails to deal with. (But I'm being a baby. It's fine! Just tired today...)

[the_geneticist]

At both current school and most recent past school, accommodations letters say and have said very clearly that they do not work retroactively. Hope yours works that way as well.

AR.

I wouldn't really mind that--most of the stuff would be auto-graded anyway. It's just a weird time to get the letter, and I don't relish the prospect of checking in with the student and then having more emails to deal with. (But I'm being a baby. It's fine! Just tired today...)

Maybe the student is hoping for a last minute "If I do AMAZINGLY well on the final exam, I'll pass the class" sort of miracle.
Is it even mathematically possible for them to pass after missing that much of the class?

[Parasaurolophus]

Maybe the student is hoping for a last minute "If I do AMAZINGLY well on the final exam, I'll pass the class" sort of miracle.
Is it even mathematically possible for them to pass after missing that much of the class?

Haha, no, it's too many zeroes. The best they could hope for at this point is 35%. And I think that would be obvious to anyone looking, including the student. I would have thought it was an automatic notification and that the student wasn't involved at all, except that it's weird for an automatic notification like that to happen in the last two weeks of the semester, as opposed to the first two.