Michael Sylvester wrote:
> I have a student in my class who I and the other students perceive as
> weird and wacko. His head is shaved as a skinhead,wears dark classes,
> sits alone in a corner from the other members of the class-seems to
> be the classic loner.
> He has a unique way of writing.Its all lines and dots,looks like morse
> code.I am unable to tell where the top or the bottom of the page is.
> I can not even tell where his name is on the page. I asked
> him not to write this way,but he insisted that's how he writes.
Then inform him that it is not up to academic standards and require him
to print his words _carefully_ and clearly so that you can read
them--inform him that if you can't read an answer it will be marked wrong,
then _do_ it.
A student shouldn't be telling the _instructor_ how s/he is going to
prepare a submission--the instructor should be telling the student how it
is to be done.
> So I have him read his answers to me when the test is over.
Why?
You are capitulating to _his_ demands.
If he expects to succeed in college--or in a career, he needs to learn
how to communicate in writing in an academically acceptable form. You are
doing him no favor by providing him an "out."
If the student was disabled and unable to write in a normal form, it
would (of course) be a different matter. But it's pretty clear all he is
doing is deliberately violating the norms for your class (and probably)
others and relying on intimidating his instructors into accepting that
behavior. Do him a favor and teach him that he _cannot_ get away with
that.
Michael, you were the one who discussed the importance of classroom
discipline last week. Use it in your own class--it will benefit everyone.
> I require that all his take home written
> assignments be typed .
You need to require that his in-class ones be legible as well.
> He is also very defensive about his answers ,but he is getting A's.
Why? He definitely isn't earning them.
> He is extremely bright. I suspect that this guy is so paranoid
> and perfectionist that if he was to less than A in the course something
> may happen.
Bunk!
If he was a perfectionist, he would learn to communicate appropriately.
If you are afraid of violence then talk to campus security about the
matter. But start demanding he meet your class standards in ALL areas or
flunk him as he deserves.
What kind of message are you sending to your _other_ students? That if
you act weird and threatening you don't have to follow the rules? That
instructors will capitulate to intimidation? Or that the rules are
arbitrary and can be broken with no sanctions resulting? None of those is
something you want your students to learn from you.
The next time he turns in a "morse code" assignment, mark it
"unacceptable--Not up to academic standards--0.0" and return it to him
with that grade. He'll get the message and either start writing correctly,
drop your class, or flunk the course--all of which are _his_ choice.
> Have you had cases like this and have advanced with caution because of
> your awareness of the warning signs?
If the warning signs are that clear you need to involve security rather
than capitulate.
I've had more than a few inner city gangbanger types in my classes (the
school where I teach is located in the same city as the worlds largest
walled prison, and a lot of inner city families have moved here from
Detroit to live near their incarcerated family members). Some of those
students come in with either a chip on their shoulder that's big enough to
build a house out of or with a total lack of preparation for college (or
both). Occasionally, they will try intimidation games--and almost
invariably when I make it plain that while I'm willing to bend backwards
to help them succeed (through arranging tutoring, providing detailed
feedback on their written works--and I have very heavy written
requirements in my classes, etc.) but that I _expect_ them to meet the
same standards for the class as any other student, they either start
shaping up or they drop the class. The few who continue to try and bluff
their way through end up flunking the course, and I don't have the
slightest guilt about giving them a richly deserved 0.0 for the term.
College students are adults. The choice of whether to make the effort and
get a high grade or not try and flunk the class is their to make, not
mine.
Rick
--
Rick Adams
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Department of Social Sciences
Jackson Community College, Jackson, MI
"... and the only measure of your worth and your deeds
will be the love you leave behind when you're gone."
Fred Small, J.D., "Everything Possible"
