More Grumpy

In this post, I wrote about some issues with a class of graduate students who were all supposed to give presentations. There are 18 in the class, and this week the second group of 9 were supposed to present, along with 4 from last week who variously flaked out. This was going to be a long class. However, it wasn't. Because:

• 1 who didn't show last week emailed to say he was too busy to come in today because he was going away with his partner for their anniversary, and he didn't email me last week because he had rent arrears so was stressed (no, I don't get that either)
• 1 who had arranged to postpone from last week emailed half an hour before the class to say he needed to take his wife to the Drs urgently (which I will accept as half-reasonable because she speaks almost no English and if you are offered a Drs appointment here you take it or wait a week...)
• 4 showed up and did their talks and listened to the others
• 1 (little star!) had done his talk last week, and attended and listened to the others this week (as the module requires)
• 1 wandered in 5 minutes before his scheduled talk time, gave his talk, and disappeared
• 1 was scheduled to speak at 09:15 and sent me an email time-stamped 10:19 to say he'd just woken up and he had a sore throat so couldn't come in.
• 1 had arranged to be absent three weeks ago, with appropriate supporting evidence (hospital appointment)
• 8... didn't show. Including the two whose research projects I am supervising. Who both emailed me today demanding my help and needing an appointment tomorrow at the latest to help with the assignment that's due... for this module. They are going to be plum out of luck, since a) I have no office hours tomorrow, b) I am spending most of tomorrow at a meeting at another university an hour's drive in the opposite direction from my house and c) whilst I would often consider coming in to my office for an hour before/after said meeting, at considerable inconvenience to me, they've just forfited the right to me making a special effort, I think. I could have seen them in my office hours after the class they skipped...

THEN

I talked to the colleague-who-knows-these-things about penalising those students who did not show or get in touch, but apparently I need to understand that they're stressed because they have assignments due for this and other modules, and I can't expect them to show up to class as WELL. I hate this. It's not exactly preparing them for the work place, is it? And what would happen to me if I was stressed about my grant deadlines and didn't show up to class, huh? Would everyone be understanding? GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

THEN

I pulled the next set of papers off my grading pile. They were from this same group of grad students, so I should have shown sense and put them back. The assignment sheet for this essay offered them a choice of three very specific questions, and went on for a page and half about what they needed to do, and included an initial reading list (since many of these students are international students, I like to be very clear about expectations in the UK and at my uni, and if they have them in writing they can revisit them frequently with a dictionary if necessary).

The first student had made up their own essay title, and (tried to) answer it.

The second student added a colon to the title and a clause which turned the original question from a grad level one into a 'describe' one - very clever, in a warped sort of way.

The third had made up their own question, on the topic of a different module.

The fourth had written down the correct question but written an essay which was a summary of the lecture I gave on an unrelated topic, citing 'Grumpy Academic 2011' as the sole reference.

As I turned the fifth over, common sense struck, and I came here to have a whinge instead. Tonight is a pizza-and-wine night. Maybe skip the pizza??