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| Thankz for the Lulz. |
Our fine and upstanding institution of higher learning has a notification system in which students who are receiving poor grades get an automated "contact yer prof, STAT" warning. These went out last week.
One such sterling example of disengagement, who has attended less than 50% of class sessions, handed in zero written work, and failed the first exam, decided to respond to his warning. My shocked face, let me show you it.
It was the response itself that contained the lulz. "I've been meaning to meet with you about my grade. I know I am not doing well in your class can I meet with you tomorrow after class?"
Cats and kittens, the email was sent the Monday of our spring break week.
Yes, indeed, it is spring break and the little darling is so disengaged with the learning process that he didn't even know that this week is a well-earned week of debauchery and shenanigans for him AND for me.
And with that, I'll get on with my spring break, chuckling all the while. Cheers!
I'm currently dealing with a string of emails o'woe from final year project students, who now URGENTLY need help since the deadline for their (eleven month long) projects is shortly after Easter. We are currently in the 'second vacation period' (Spring Break by a different name). Several have had the cheek to write things like 'as you don't have classes, I will come to meet with you at 07:27 tomorrow' or 'I am working full time this week, call me at x time on y number'. Um. I don't THINK so. 'vacation period' is when I'm supposed to write grants, papers, meet with my grad students AND fit in my OWN annual leave... not help with projects that they are currently supposed to be editing the final draft of, NOT JUST STARTING THE ANALYSES (or in one particularly grim case, the LAB WORK). Gah!
ReplyDeleteI've had this happen, not with the full-week spring break, so far as I can remember, but sometimes with the odd little holiday that comes in the middle of the fall term, and/or with the end of term (no, you won't be missing class today, my dear; the term is OVER). I'm never sure quite how to respond, but I usually come up with something factual and apologetic ("unfortunately, [restate facts/boundaries specified on syllabus/assignment]"). In this case, you should definitely be checking your email only sporadically, and should not reply until after class the specified class time, so that the student can have the enlightening experience of journeying to campus (I assume this is an off-campus student), finding traffic/parking surprisingly light, arriving right on time to class, and finding no one there.
ReplyDeleteWe're on Spring Break this week. I got an email yesterday from a student asking where everybody was.
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