This quarter, I am thankful for my student Lola. She is not the brightest, nor the most astute. While Lola is also a flake: sometimes arriving late to class, missing assignments, more often than not dozing in the back row, Lola offers something I treasure.
Lola does not complain, whine, offer any excuses, or request extensions to make up for her own shortcomings. Instead, when I ask how she is doing, Lola simply shrugs, tells me she forgot to do an assignment, or that she stayed up late watching movies, and then thanks me for caring enough to ask her how she is doing. Lola does not blame me for her failings. She smiles, tells me she will try harder next time, and then she does. And when she does try harder and gets a better grade, she thanks me again.
What I am most thankful for right now, is that she sent me an email saying she is signing up for the next sequence of the class with me next quarter. This means I will have at least ONE uncomplaining student who takes responsibility for her own behavior and choices. For that, I am grateful!
More Lolas would be fine with me.
ReplyDeleteI don't get annoyed or offended if students don't want to put in one hundred percent. The only ones that drive me crazy are the ones who put in little or no effort and then expect their grade to somehow magically reflect the time and commitment that they should have devoted to the class, rather than the time and commitment that they actually did devote to it.
The ones who infuriate me even more are those who then blame me for their shitty grades, as if their own efforts (or lack thereof) had nothing to do with the D on their transcript.
Of course, in an ideal world the students would all have Lola's positive attitude along with a commitment to the work itself, but I'm realistic about the chances of that happening. In the absence of the ideal, I'll happily take a few Lolas in place of some of the entitled whiners who currently populate our classrooms.
but does she have a dark brown voice???
ReplyDeleteLOL, M-A & M: I'd be surprised if my "Lola" can even spell her name... but she don't complain. :o)
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