You're Too Tough
Sorry I have not written in a while. As we are entering the last month of the semester, the figurative shit is hitting the fan for both students and professors.
While I appreciate the fact that students struggle at this time of year, they never really understand how much we do as well. As drop dates loom, I am put in a difficult spot. While I am told to never "tell" a student to drop a course, I am a big believer in being honest with them. I have had too many students claim that they did not "have a clue" that they were failing when they receive their final grades at the end of the semester. So, when the drop date nears, I go through my grade books and put students into three categories: those who are passing, those who are in danger of failing (the 45-65 range), and those who have no chance in hell of passing (less than 45 category). Then, I send out e-mails to the students in the latter two groups letting them know where they stand.
This is where the problem occurs: they think that if they make up all the work that they have missed over the course of the entire semester, they can pass.
OK, technically they can. However, I have yet to see a student do this. As I give numerous assignments over the semester, they have to complete upwards of five assignments by this point, and my assignments, while not overly difficult, are time consuming. However, as I am very laid back I say "sure, but you have to get it to me by X. After that, no late assignments will be accepted." This way I am giving them the "rope in which to hang themselves with" as one of my colleagues put it so bluntly. If they do not do the work and they complain about their grade, I can say "hey, I gave you every opportunity to do well in my class."
Why do I do this? I mean, as Bear put it, what makes me think that if they could not get it done over the past two plus months that they are going to get it done now? Valid point.
This goes back to those torturous years under the Dickmeister. He always believed that students were "right" and thus should get good grades if they "tried really hard." While he once claimed that he did not want to make the college a "degree mill" (his words), he would rather have happy students by giving them all As for effort (so how is that not making the college a degree mill?). I was yelled at many times by him that I was "too difficult" and made my assignments "too hard." So, after years of dealing with this, I created this...I guess you can call it a defense mechanism? This way, if any student complained about me being "too tough," I can turn around and say "I don't understand. I gave them X amount of opportunities to pull up their grades. It's not my fault they did not take advantage of this."
Yes, I am a tough grader. I never said I was not. Hell, I warn them on the first day that my class will not be easy and they have to earn their grade. I have standards that I must keep. It is bad enough that I have had to "dumb down" exams and projects over the years to get most of the students to pass--thank you No Child Left Behind--but I still need to challenge them. If they show initiative, which most do not these days, I am more than willing to help them. I offer to look at drafts, I give review sheets for the exams, I allow rewrites of papers...yet no one ever takes me up on these offers. I think I have had one student out of five classes show up for an office hour this semester and that was to make up a test. That's it.
The reason why all of this is difficult is that I hate seeing these kids fail. They have so much potential but because so many things have been handed to them they do not understand that the real world does not work that way. When you go out into the real world, if you do not hand in a project or if you show up late consistently, you are going to lose your job. I would rather they get the wake up call now and realize "oh shit, this is the way it really is." The worst part is that some of them will never get it. They see me as the evil bitch trying to ruin their GPA. I am not. If anything, that is the farthest thought from my mind. I look at it as "tough love." How are you going to learn if nobody pushes you?
What was that movie from the 1980s? Ah yes, "Stand and Deliver." It was about a calculus teacher who believed in students when nobody else did and pushed them to pass AP Calculus. Studies have been done (my favorite line) that show when teachers believe in their students and give them greater opportunities to do well, they learn more. I am one of those teachers. They all have the potential but they need to believe in it.
So when they are lazy, it hurts. I want them to learn but I cannot force them. It is all in their hands. When they come up to me when the reality of failing kicks in, I give them the opportunity to learn. Whether it is the lesson of time management or self-care by understanding what they can or cannot do, I want them to learn. However, this is sometimes lost or not appreciated and it hurts. Dammit, I care about these kids but I cannot hold their hands. They need to learn. So if I am "too tough," so be it.
While I appreciate the fact that students struggle at this time of year, they never really understand how much we do as well. As drop dates loom, I am put in a difficult spot. While I am told to never "tell" a student to drop a course, I am a big believer in being honest with them. I have had too many students claim that they did not "have a clue" that they were failing when they receive their final grades at the end of the semester. So, when the drop date nears, I go through my grade books and put students into three categories: those who are passing, those who are in danger of failing (the 45-65 range), and those who have no chance in hell of passing (less than 45 category). Then, I send out e-mails to the students in the latter two groups letting them know where they stand.
This is where the problem occurs: they think that if they make up all the work that they have missed over the course of the entire semester, they can pass.
OK, technically they can. However, I have yet to see a student do this. As I give numerous assignments over the semester, they have to complete upwards of five assignments by this point, and my assignments, while not overly difficult, are time consuming. However, as I am very laid back I say "sure, but you have to get it to me by X. After that, no late assignments will be accepted." This way I am giving them the "rope in which to hang themselves with" as one of my colleagues put it so bluntly. If they do not do the work and they complain about their grade, I can say "hey, I gave you every opportunity to do well in my class."
Why do I do this? I mean, as Bear put it, what makes me think that if they could not get it done over the past two plus months that they are going to get it done now? Valid point.
This goes back to those torturous years under the Dickmeister. He always believed that students were "right" and thus should get good grades if they "tried really hard." While he once claimed that he did not want to make the college a "degree mill" (his words), he would rather have happy students by giving them all As for effort (so how is that not making the college a degree mill?). I was yelled at many times by him that I was "too difficult" and made my assignments "too hard." So, after years of dealing with this, I created this...I guess you can call it a defense mechanism? This way, if any student complained about me being "too tough," I can turn around and say "I don't understand. I gave them X amount of opportunities to pull up their grades. It's not my fault they did not take advantage of this."
Yes, I am a tough grader. I never said I was not. Hell, I warn them on the first day that my class will not be easy and they have to earn their grade. I have standards that I must keep. It is bad enough that I have had to "dumb down" exams and projects over the years to get most of the students to pass--thank you No Child Left Behind--but I still need to challenge them. If they show initiative, which most do not these days, I am more than willing to help them. I offer to look at drafts, I give review sheets for the exams, I allow rewrites of papers...yet no one ever takes me up on these offers. I think I have had one student out of five classes show up for an office hour this semester and that was to make up a test. That's it.
The reason why all of this is difficult is that I hate seeing these kids fail. They have so much potential but because so many things have been handed to them they do not understand that the real world does not work that way. When you go out into the real world, if you do not hand in a project or if you show up late consistently, you are going to lose your job. I would rather they get the wake up call now and realize "oh shit, this is the way it really is." The worst part is that some of them will never get it. They see me as the evil bitch trying to ruin their GPA. I am not. If anything, that is the farthest thought from my mind. I look at it as "tough love." How are you going to learn if nobody pushes you?
What was that movie from the 1980s? Ah yes, "Stand and Deliver." It was about a calculus teacher who believed in students when nobody else did and pushed them to pass AP Calculus. Studies have been done (my favorite line) that show when teachers believe in their students and give them greater opportunities to do well, they learn more. I am one of those teachers. They all have the potential but they need to believe in it.
So when they are lazy, it hurts. I want them to learn but I cannot force them. It is all in their hands. When they come up to me when the reality of failing kicks in, I give them the opportunity to learn. Whether it is the lesson of time management or self-care by understanding what they can or cannot do, I want them to learn. However, this is sometimes lost or not appreciated and it hurts. Dammit, I care about these kids but I cannot hold their hands. They need to learn. So if I am "too tough," so be it.
Comments