You may recall Eviline, the student who raised a fuss that anxiety from a mean teacher caused her to fail her tests. Since she has an anxiety disorder, she said that it wasn't fair to expect her to do well on tests with such a meanie. The professor offered to allow her to take the tests over this semester, with help from the tutoring center to study and a proctor of her choice.
Some of you asked for an update, and I have one! Eviline fussed and fretted and continued to say the whole thing was not fair. I had e-mailed the Inner City SLAC program director to tell her that the grade was under dispute and that the dispute would be resolved by April 1. Eviline fussed and fretted and April 1 came and went. Evilne went to the Dean one last time saying it was not fair to ask her to take tests from last semester. Our Dean pointed out that this was what she had agreed to, and also that she was claiming a B+ or A- mastery of the material (and she could not show it because of anxiety over Professor Mean). Inner City SLAC asked for an update, and I was hesitant to give them one (being worried that any language could be construed as hurting Eviline's chances).
Bella
The ferocity with which they object to having their bluffs called is most telling. But a little voice in your head tells you, "well, maybe there's something here that warrants the benefit of the doubt." And then as Ben said, these things take care of themselves.
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of an anxiety disorder that allowed a student to access a personal email account but not their school email. That must have been an interesting accommodation letter from Disability Services. Oh, no such language in the letter? No letter?
This is a growth opportunity for Eviline.
The charitable interpretation is that Eviline has worked herself into such a state of anxiety over this course, these exams, and this instructor that she was bound to fail anything associated with them, and is probably better off starting off fresh (preferably at another institution).
ReplyDeleteThe less-charitable interpretation is that, for whatever reason (real anxiety, laziness, significant difficulty with the material), Eviline was unable to complete out-of-class work such as homework herself, and eventually outsourced the job, leaving her unable to pass the tests.
And that, of course, is why we have tests.
I agree that growth (academic and personal) is in order before Eviline enters grad school, and am glad that she will have the opportunity for such growth (and that someone more deserving, or at least prepared, will take "her" place in the grad program).
Maybe she needs serious psychological help; maybe she just needs to grow up; maybe both. Whatever the situation, it sounds like a break from school is in order.
As someone who has a serious anxiety disorder, this kind of ticks me off. That is, I do believe that the prof could have (even if it was not his or her fault) made the student anxious. It happens. It's hard to get people to believe that is a real thing.
DeleteBut then she bombs the tests. That's what ticks me off. Now it may be even harder for some teachers to believe students who have anxiety and need alternatives.
As someone who has a serious anxiety disorder, this kind of ticks me off. That is, I do believe that the prof could have (even if it was not his or her fault) made the student anxious. It happens. It's hard to get people to believe that is a real thing.
DeleteBut then she bombs the tests. That's what ticks me off. Now it may be even harder for some teachers to believe students who have anxiety and need alternatives.
At my joint, the nice people in Disability Services tell me if a student gets an accommodation. They generally avoid revealing specific diagnoses of specific students, however, in certain cases where it directly affected the necessity, feasibility, and reasonableness of the accommodation, they've educated us as to why one diagnosis can't be treated like another. I don't need to have an opinion on whether any particular disorder is "real" or not; it's most straightforward to just take Disability Services' word for it, as they have training that I lack.
DeleteI have seen multiple scenarios like Eveline's play out to different conclusions. In some cases, when the students were allowed to retake tests (e.g. because they suffered a meltdown during the first sitting), they were able to pass them. Other cases went more like Eveline's and the students did not pass. Even if they all played out like Eveline's case, it would be insufficient reason for me to conclude that students who have anxiety do not need alternatives. I must always bear in mind that my experience might not be the norm, and my anecdotes do not negate more complete data available elsewhere.
"Eviline" sounds like a line of cosmetics for supervillains...
ReplyDeleteI think this won't be the last you hear of Eviline...
ReplyDeleteI'm still loving the transformation of the name from "Eveline" in the earlier post to "Eviline" in this one. Had it gone to "Evilene", her twin sister could have been "Ethylene". Ethylene glycol is a common component of automotive engine coolant that allows it to remain liquid at temperatures well below the freezing point of water. It is also toxic if ingested in large quantities.
ReplyDelete