I just was down talking with the departmental secretary.
She said "One of your students called me this morning."
I suddenly was on alert: I was in my office, and a student calling the secretary rather than me means that they want something I'm probably going to say "no" to, but they're going to passive-aggressively not directly ask me, but make me call them back to tell them.
But it wasn't that.
It was one of my non-majors students.
He wanted to know when the final is.
(Which means he doesn't have the review sheet as it has IN LARGE LETTERS ON THE TOP OF IT when and where the final exam is).
He didn't call me directly because he couldn't remember my name.
Which means he no longer has the syllabus either.
So - he won't know, likely, that this is a comprehensive final. He likely has no idea of what is on it. He doesn't know to bring one of those scan-tron sheets and a number 2 pencil with him - which means he will perhaps try to take it on the exam sheet itself, meaning more effort in grading for me.
The exam is tomorrow.
He also called AFTER the first exam had started - so if that had been the exam time he would have been SOL.
Oh, and get this- he said that the start-time of the class was 15 minutes later than it actually is. That explains a lot. That's why he walked in late every single freaking day.
I just threw up my hands and kind of melodramatically exclaimed (so much so one of the other faculty came running to see what was wrong) that some people who are in college should not be.
I mean: not knowing your prof's name after a semester with her. (I know HIS name, and the names of everyone else in the class! And I'm bad with names!). Not knowing the correct class time. Not knowing when the final was, or even how to find out (hint: the schedule is on the FREAKING COLLEGE WEBPAGE, you dink!)
So, I don't know - can I just slap a 20% down for his grade and just forget it? Because I'm anticipating that's what he gets.
And here is a question: Am I totally out of touch? Am I being totally unreasonable to expect that (a) a student who has had me all semester remember my name and (b) a student (who is not merely a freshman; I think this guy is a sophomore) be able to figure out where to look for the final exam schedule?
Monday, December 11, 2006
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4 comments:
If I couldn't remember my teacher's name by the end of the semester and, between my classmates, the internet and several friggin' weeks that I should have been preparing, was not sure of the date or format of the final days before it was going to be given, I'd just drop out of the class, take the "F" and re-take the entire thing at a later date rather than admit I was that embarissingly neglectful.
Wonder what this guy plans on doing for a living?...his first few weeks out in the world should be amusing...
Heheheh, david - "Hi, boss - where's my desk again? And what exactly are my responsibilities and assignments? Great. Got it, thanks - see you at 9:15 sharp!"
Ricki, this is sadly not too unusual. In fact, this was a much more advanced case of what got me flung headlong from college 15 years ago. After I finally bounced to a stop, I started making progress. (Hopefully he won't need the maximum wake up like I did.) Ever since I've been sensitive to these kinds of stories, and since I know a couple of college professors, I've heard many. The magic moment is when the kid realizes that your fury at his carelessness and insoucance aren't just "she's mean" but "hey, there are high stakes here." It raises your blood pressure but in the long run your reaction to his selfmade plight is more realistic than his.
I think you ought to have a good read over at Prof. Dutch's "Top Ten No Sympathy Lines".
Here's a sample to wet your appetite:
The work force is full of people who do the minimum necessary to get by. Give me one reason why I, as a citizen or consumer, should help create more of them.
Call me elitist, but there are a lot more people who want good jobs than there are good jobs to go around. I think society has a perfect right to reserve those positions for people who demonstrate a commitment to excellence.
For people who want to get by on the minimum, there's a reward already established. It's called the minimum wage.
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