Figured I’d share a little Holiday Cheer: HUZZAH!
CHEATERS NEVER PROSPER
Were they brothers? Father and son? Brothers-In Law? Whatever they were, they had the same last name and submitted the exact same file for an assignment. Even had the same submission message. They were called for cheating and given zeros. One complained that he had worked on that assignment for one whole hour and it was SOOO unfair that he got a zero. Wellll, they both ended up with a “D” in the class (what’s a D divided by 2?). Some consider that passing. I don’t. Most degree plans won’t accept D’s and they don’t transfer. F’s would have been even sweeter, but D’s will doo for these two. I hope the D insures I’ll never see them again either.
INTEGRITY LIVES!
With all the exaggerated claims of madness and mayhem used to get out of finishing a course on time or taking that last Final or sometimes just doing the regular work in the class, I had a completely legitimate “Incomplete” candidate. She was in a terrible car accident the week of Finals and had a concussion and neck injury which interfered with her ability to type. She even had a doctor’s note (legible, but otherwise realistic). I told her daughter, who e-mailed me, that I would give her an “I” and she should rest and take care of herself and talk to me after the holidays to arrange a time/place to take the Final and finish one assignment. Instead, she worked hard to finish in time for the posting of grades. Granted, she may have had other motivations like scholarships, transfer or graduation. Still, she did it and never once complained. THANKED me. Are you kidding? Thank YOU for reminding me there are still good eggs out there.
INSPIRATION: BREATHE IT IN
This reminded me of the young gentleman in one of my tough science courses that had M.S. He was still walking, but not easily, and he was very difficult to understand when he spoke. Yet, that never stopped him from asking questions in class or participating in lab. He did his video experiment beautifully and never asked for any accommodations. Never complained about having to mark a Scantron. Worked hard for his “C” and never cried “entitlement.” Thanks for the inspiration and refreshing attitude M.ost S.uperior Man. Still feel it 15 years later.
Well, that’s all the Holiday Cheer I can share/bear for now! Back to: how did I possible not pass your class when I tried so hard? Missed 40% of the class? Got less than 50% on 50% of the assignments…doesn’t 50% + 50% = 100%? yada, yada, yada
Yeah, I just came to the end of a semester of giving a dim-bulb research student a chance. Unsurprisingly he muffed it, and won't be working with me again. I'm reasonably sure he did do at least some of the reading, but he sure didn't understand much of it. His proficiency with experimental methods involved me having to supervise him to do the simplest things, such as make x-y scatter plots with Excel. I never had a lesson on that: I figured it out myself. Heaven forbid HE do that! The result was a semester of spinning my wheels: I can't trust any results he got, so I'll have to do the whole thing myself.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the cheer, P&C!
ReplyDeleteMay I add a couple?
Three cheers for FRABJOUS FRIEDA! She showed up on time every day, sat in the front, asked relevant questions, AND even PERFORMED her final project with pizazz. In her fairly accented voice. Did I mention she's deaf? Her notes were transcribed by a professional note-taker. Never once did she complain about the occasional B or C. She thanked me profusely for accommodating her, but isn't that just courtesy? Not to mention the law.
Huzzahs for STRUGGLING STELLA! She flunked last year after many absences related to severe complications of her son's birth defect. This semester he was hospitalized a couple more times, and then at Thanksgiving, her car was broadsided, causing her multiple injuries. And yet. She turned in every assignment, pulled her grade up from D to B, and then refused my offer of an incomplete, hobbling into class for the final. Afterwards she told me her story of having been a high school dropout single mom whose major life interest was "shoes, shoes shoes." She told me my class was the hardest one she'd taken, but she needed to prove to herself that she could do it, and now she's so proud, she feels she can tackle anything.
YES! These students make it all worthwhile. We now return to our regularly scheduled grading.