Annette, It is not 5-10% of the students I get frustrated over. It is more like 40-50%. At least this many show signs of either one or more of the 12 signs of apathy I mentioned earlier. I never said that "all" students were full of apathy but certainly a great big number are or show some symptoms of these apathy traits throughout the semester. If you teach freshman and sophomore students especially at the 2-year schools where many are not even interested in obtaining an Associate of Arts degree let alone a BA you would understand more what I and others experience with student apathy.
Payam --- [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > Hi Payam: > > I think I've got it. You are stressing over the > 5-10% of students who are not > getting with the program. You are not talking about > all students, in general! > > I think that what I'm finally getting from this > on-going discussion is that you > want to reach 100%. I think we all went into > teaching wanting to reach 100% and > probably most of us still feel some pangs of regret > for those who slip away > from us. But at some time I eventually realized that > I was draining myself > completely in putting so much of my mental and > psychological effort in to that > minority. (Didn't we have this discussion about 2-3 > years ago on TIPS, framed > just a little bit differently, or is this deja-vu?) > Anyway, I was short- > changing the students who really wanted my energy > and attention because there > was only so much of me to go around, and to take > care of my family > and.....myself! > > There are clearly some students who don't care--who > are in college for all the > wrong reasons. I was that kind of student my first > year of college--fortunately > in the late 60's it was chique (sp?) to drop out and > "find yourself" so by the > time I went back to school I was the totally devoted > student most of us love to > teach. But that first year, I was a real poop-head. > Didn't try, except as the > mood moved me, didn't care, didn't see where it was > taking me, etc. As I look > back I really think I was a late bloomer and that's > that, but it took me a > whole year of college to figure out that it wasn't > my time yet. > > Well, my point in that self-disclosure is that we > are all going to come across > students whose time hasn't come yet, for a multitude > of reasons, and there is > probably little we can do, except welcome them back > eventually. > > Unfortunately, these days, most students feel they > must finish up the BA degree > so they can afford to drop out and still support > themselves....so they hang > around and exhibit all of the many signs of apathy > you've been talking about. > They need that degree, but it is meaningless in its > truest form. I think there > is an underlying theme of just not having figured > themselves out yet--although > I may be projecting. > > Anyway, I think it's wonderful that you are plugging > away are finding an answer- > -not giving up even if an answer is not > forth-coming. How about sitting down > with your students over coffee, during intersession, > and talking about it with > them????? > > OK, so even if I am still out in left field, I must > go back to grading papers. > > Annette > > Quoting Payam Heidary <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: > > > Tim, > > > > Thanks for the elaborate explanation of your > > experiences with student apathy and how you have > tried > > to overcome them over the years. I do agree with > you > > that sometimes if we change our approach or > behavior > > as instructors we can see changes in student > apathy. > > However, I do not believe this will solve most > > problems with students apathy. I think student > apathy > > is a far more serious problem and despite how you > > change your teaching styles you will still see > lots of > > apathy among students. Also, your solution only > > addresses a few of the many 12 most common > "apathy" > > items I listed before. It still does not solve the > > many other problems with student apathy such as > > excessive student absences, late assignments, not > > taking notes, sleeping in class, etc. This is a > > difficult and widespread problem and the solution > to > > this is not that simple. > > > > Payam > > > > > > __________________________________________________ > > Do You Yahoo!? > > Find a job, post your resume. > > http://careers.yahoo.com > > > > --- > > You are currently subscribed to tips as: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > To unsubscribe send a blank email to > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > > > Annette Taylor, Ph.D. > Associate Professor of Psychology > University of San Diego > [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Find a job, post your resume. http://careers.yahoo.com --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
