Dear Snowflake,
In the first class this term, I gave a compelling and lively lecture on how regular attendance and constant application are necessary to successfully master HamsterFur Weaving 101, and that, in my experience, those who do not show up to class regularly are quickly overwhelmed and invariably drop out by the middle of term, so if that is your plan, you can save money and time by dropping the class right now while you can still get a full refund.
However, you weren't at the first class, so you missed it. You came to the second class. I haven't seen you since, though I hear you did show up at the tutorial.
So now I have a dilemma. You seem to think you're still in the class. A morally upright proffie would, I'm pretty sure, email you to inquire about your lack of attendance and suggest diplomatically that you either get your ass in the door or drop the class now. But if you don't drop by this time next week, the uni's got your money, and your enrollment counts towards our department total.
What to do, what to do ...
Sincerely, your probably not entirely morally upright Proffie
delivery delayed until September 30
I often encounter this dilemma. I sit on it for a few days, relishing the feeling of screwing someone over as a collective retribution for all of the deary darling snowflakes that kill me slowly with their lies and laziness....
ReplyDeleteAnd then, after feeling all morally upstanding and victorious, I relent, send the quick email, suggest they drop. Then, when their laziness gets the better of them in SPITE of my kindness, I feel much better sticking it to them.
Why is this our responsibility to begin with? They are the ones who enrolled in the course. It should be their responsibility to drop.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with EMH. I got plenty to keep track of, and the last thing on my list is making sure some snowflake doesn't miss their dates. I worked at a place where I was required to have withdrawal dates on my syllabus, and I did, but of course, the benefit of having it spelled out on the syllabus only works if they RTFS in the first place.
ReplyDeleteI think I'm supposed to remind them of the drop dates but I always forget. I never used to bother keeping track of these things for the students. I'm going soft ...
ReplyDeleteAt the risk of sounding like I had to walk through waist-deep snow to get to the registration window, no one had to remind me that I registered for a class.
ReplyDelete"Oh oopsy! I was busy practicing for the barista Olympics and like totally forgot that I enrolled in college!"
Will their future employers give them wake up calls?
Annie, we didn't walk through waist-deep snow. We crawled, with barbed wire wrapped around our hands and feet for traction.
ReplyDeleteI am required to deregister anyone who simply doesn't show up at all in the first week. The difficult decisions are the students who showed up once. They know they're in the class and are "keeping their options open" - presumably because there's some other class in the same time slot that they're on the waitlist for and don't know yet if they're going to get in. But after the first week, that should be clear.
ReplyDeleteOh well. I shall stop fretting. As y'all point out, it's her funeral.
Depends on what your school does with those records. At the end of every academic year, I'm met at The Inquisition, AKA my faculty evaluation, with my retention and pass rate statistics. D grades do not count as pass for state purposes even though most colleges now take them in transfer. If students drop before the recording date, they don't count against me at all. If they drop after then, they count against me in both the retention and grade statistics. If they show up even once, I can't get rid of them on my own. So yes, I'd be sending that email in a heartbeat.
ReplyDeleteDepending on how large the class is, one student's idiocy can be enough to push the stats into the territory where proffies get The Talk about saving more students and then have to create the dreaded Action Plan. So far I've managed to avoid it. I hope to continue my perfect record this year.
The purpose of a college education is to learn something. Not all of it will be graded or even on a test. In this case, the lesson is that decisions have consequences, and that not making a decision is still a decision.
ReplyDeleteWe can probably add a corollary to the mantra "Don't care more about their education than they do": Don't care more about their money than they do.
I know, it's probably their parents' money, or a student loan, but it will eventually run out and they'll have to pay for their education themselves. Perhaps that will motivate them to open a book, pay attention, take notes or even read the syllabus.
@English Doc: That sound was my jaw hitting the floor. Where, in your school's view, is the student's responsibility? This policy sounds ripe for negotiation by your Academic Senate, faculty union, or both.
ReplyDelete