When did "everyone is giving me the dick around about my financial aid so i cant get the books" become a legitimate excuse for missing class? And when did "Sorry Prof M but I forgot to write down the room number for the new classroom so I couldn't come to class today" become a legitimate excuse for missing class?And when did "this is a writing class, not a reading class" become a legitimate excuse for not doing a reading assignment? And when did "I only read for the classes in my major" become a legitimate excuse for not doing a reading assignment?
And when did "I know I missed your class two days ago, but I have a note from the nurse, and it pains me to think I might lose participation points for an unfortunate illness that was not in any way my fault" override the line on the syllabus that says there is no distinction between excused and unexcused absences?
For the love of god, what is wrong with these assholes? It's only week two and I am already up to my eyeballs in snowflakes and their damn snowflakey excuses.
I am with you.
ReplyDeleteI just think we have to stand our ground on this shit. Too many people cave, and it makes it harder down the hallway for everyone else who teaches.
I have one colleague who will just accept work at ANY point in the semester, weeks late, no penalty. It makes it harder every semester for anyone else who gets his students.
It makes me wonder if anyone actually craves or if the kids are playing us like they play their parents....
ReplyDeletePerhaps we'll never know.
I wish that universities would have a university policy on such things as absenses, late work, and other common annoying things.
At LD3C, there is no reason for students to have book purchasing delayed by financial aid. There are a couple of mechanisms in place here to counter that, but some students still try that excuse. In fairness, though, some don't know, and I tell them about said mechanisms.
ReplyDeleteI think you're reacting to the same thing that hit me the first week. It's this how-much-can-I-get-away-with mentality (or how little). Adults behaving like toddlers, testing boundaries, is always something that pushes my buttons. I bit my tongue a lot in the first week.
"Do I have to buy the book?" Look, jackass, I don't care whether you buy the book or not, but I'll be using it a lot in this class, so do what you feel you must.
"Does it have to be typed?" Only if you want me to accept it, since typing is a requirement.
"I take the bus, and it's cold, and the baby's sick, and I work two jobs, and blah, blah, blah." Well, sweetheart, I didn't make you take this course--and you'd be amazed by how many others there are in this class who have real, serious shit they're going through who NEVER use it as an excuse for anything.
I have to admit that in winter semester, my reserves are low.
Hang in there, Mitch.
None of those are legitimate excuses; they're just trying it on. (Well, except I accept doctor's notes, but my classes don't demand a lot of participation; it depends what you're teaching.)
ReplyDeleteStandard answer: "I'm sorry to hear about your difficulties. I hope you find some way of resolving them."
ELS: "I have one colleague who will just accept work at ANY point in the semester..."
ReplyDeleteAmen. I've got the same problem. He's letting students survive his courses.. even though his syllabus clearly states that late homework won't be accepted for full value. But they would fail if he enforced that, so he doesn't.
What really pisses me off is that I'm the untenured one, and he's tenured. So, if we are going to get any work out of them, it's my job to be the bad guy and suffer on my evals despite the fact that his evals don't matter and he can even skip them if he likes.
I'm all for giving second chances to our in-major students.. but not eighth chances.
If it's any consolation, on Friday I got my first "I missed last class, did we do anything important?" for the semester. (The class missed was the first day of class: I said "Yes!" and handed the fool a syllabus.) I wonder when I'll get my first lie?
ReplyDeleteI am so tired of these very same excuses. The bit about the books...I put all books for class on reserve in the library. I send the students an e-mail (syllabus attached) telling them the books are on reserve. Since I started doing this not one has dared give me that excuse for missing class. When they show up after missing the first day of class with their bogus excuses I just listen, let them finish their little song and dance and say, "sorry you now have one unexcused absence, two more and your final grade drops by 10%, have a nice day."
ReplyDeleteAs for the "did I miss anything important," well I often have to bite my snarky tongue before I answer. I usually respond, 'ask your classmates" If they press me to repeat what I said that first day, I stare, and say in a haughty tone, "I do not do repeat performances." This does indeed get me comments on teaching evals like "she is full of herself" or "she likes herself too much." Again Snarkygirl is biting her tongue...