>Student: What chapter are we on?
>Me: The very fact that you are asking that question may have something to
>do with how you did on the last exam.
>Student: OK. You do drop one exam don't you? How many exams are there?
>Do the computer assignments count as much as the exams? Is there a place
>on campus that I can find a tutor?
This part of the exchange actually made me laugh out loud... in some ways
it makes me feel a bit better, because I was beginning to wonder if it was
just the students at SIUE that pulled this stuff (this is my first academic
job, and I am in my 4th year).
I had a similar "problem" w/ a student last spring in my Methods class. He
was a baseball player, and apparently very good (he had hopes of Div II
All-America, but fell short). He failed exams and quizzes consistently,
and at the end of the semester asked what he could do to
pass. Interestingly, his reason for asking had nothing to do w/
understanding the material, but instead had to do w/ his eligibility for
the baseball team. He stopped just short of asking if he could get some
kind of special treatment (he was a really nice kid in a lot of ways, and
we talked baseball a good bit... when he was actually around). If he
dropped the class, he wouldn't carry enough credits that semester to
play... if he failed, he'd be ineligible for the following semester's
practices and whatnot. Amazingly, he pulled it together and scraped by w/ a C.
To get back to the original point of my email...
I guess students attend college/university for many different
reasons. Some for an education. Some to kill time. Some to play
baseball. I do not feel like it is my responsibility to 'adapt and
change'' my ways and teaching style to accommodate those who fall into the
last two categories. My door is always open for students seeking help, but
I refuse to chase the failing students down the hall, asking if they are
heading to the library, harping (that is what they would call it) on them
that their education is important. If they haven't figured that out by
now... yikes.
Steve
p.s. Thanks to all of you who gave me your input about the 'final exam
schedule' post I made yesterday... your comments were incredibly
consistent, and I will be thinking of your words when we vote on the issue
tomorrow.
****************************************************************
Stephen W. Tuholski Ph.D.
Asst. Professor
Dept. of Psychology
Southern Illinois U. at Edwardsville
Edwardsville IL 62026
Phone: 618 650 5391
Fax: 618 650 5087
http://www.siue.edu/~stuhols
"Most people would sooner die than think; in fact, they do so."
- Bertrand Russell
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