rant

You've been warned.

I gave a take-home exam in my stats class last week. The students had 10 DAYS to complete that mother, including 2 entire weekends. I collected the exams today.

I had two come to me late - even though, on the top, it said in big huge letters the time and date it was due. I had one person claim to have "misread" the due-in time.

Whatever, bro.

But what is making me angry - and sad - and angry again - is that people have left whole entire sections BLANK. They didn't even try. I give a few pity-points if people at least calculate the mean and standard deviation on something even if they can't do the test. And I know it wasn't an impossible test because I have people who successfully completed it.

I don't know whether:
a. I can't teach the people who are bombing

or

b. They just don't give a $#)(*%.

(Upon reflection: most of them are people who were absent for more than one day. And I have emphasized to no end how important attendance is - I work through all the examples of the tests they need to know, I take questions, I go over the homework - I even do all the calculations that were in the homework I hand back on the board, so if people messed up, they should be able to figure out the issue).

Part of it, I suspect, is that it's hunting season here. The people who are bombing are the big hunters in my class. So I suppose it might be that they couldn't be arsed to take a couple hours on a weekend because they were out in the deer woods.

And you know, I support people's right to hunt and all, but - you are a college student. You are trying to get a degree. This class is required for graduation with the degree you want. You are, to put it bluntly, effing up. And you know you are effing up - you have done poorly on previous homework.

I have 10 hours of office hours a week.

There is no excuse for you not getting help: you know you are having trouble. I have asked for questions in class. I have made it abundantly clear (I hope) that I expect people to come in on my office hours if they have difficulty - there is no official lab time for this class, so I consider people coming in for one-on-one help to take the place of a lab.

The thing is, I know I'm going to be met with this wall of resentment when I hand the tests back Wednesday: "You made the test too hard. You never explained this to us. It wasn't in the book. It wasn't in my notes. This class should be easier." blah, blah, blah.

You know what? There are a HELLA lot of things I'd rather be doing than grading homework/tests/writing class prep/trying to figure out new and different ways to explain things/write homework/write and grade "remedial" homework for the stuff you effed up before. But it is my RESPONSIBILITY to teach you. So I put off doing things I want to do (even things I need to do, like laundry) to take that RESPONSIBILITY.

Don't hand in a half-blank test and whine that you didn't have enough time to complete it, and that I never taught that stuff anyhow. Neither of those statements is true.

Grr.