“We’ve all gone crazy lately. My friends out there are rolling ‘round the basement floor.”
Someone Save My Life Tonight by Elton John
Written by Elton John and Bernie Tauplin. From the album Blue Moves, MCA (1976).
It seems that all of us in academic land have fallen into the fiery cauldron of hell. It’s that time of year where we are bombarded with student emails, questions and demands. There are the students who disappear for most of the semester without any word as to their whereabouts. Were they abducted by aliens? Did they come down with some mysterious disease, like the Bird Flu? Who knows? But they suddenly reappear and expect you to help them catch up on their work.
Then there is the barrage of questions. You know the ones. When is the paper due? What chapters are on the final? Is this going to be on the test? When are your office hours? You answered them at least 100 times already, but for some reason, it just does not register in the student’s gray matter. It seems the words “syllabus” and “tracking calendar” means nothing.
It has gotten to the point where I even try to sneak out so that my students will not see me. I am at the point where I just don’t want to deal with the questions, begging and whining. I am thinking about limiting my availability to just my scheduled office hours. But then there is that voice in my head that whispers “No, it’s all about retention. You have to be there for your students.”
Blah! Maybe the voices should deal with the students instead of me.
About Me
- Seeking Solace
- I am a college professor who is fumbling through the chaos of academia, rheumatoid arthritis, working on my PhD and just being a 40 something woman. I used to be a lawyer, which made me a snarky little person. I have a wonderful Husband and a German Shepherd named Junior. They help keep me sane.
Paws to Consider
My Sister's Keeper
3 comments:
yeah poor attendance is hard to tolerate..i share your frustration...
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Chekkit out!
What I've been getting for the last week, and it has just been increasing in frequency, is "Can I see my grades?" I just look at them and say, "Yes. They are written on the top of every paper that I hand back to you." For some reason, they don't seem happy with that perfectly accurate statement.
I totally forgot about that one! My students look at me and say "Am I passing the course?" It they looked at the grades at the top of every assignment or test that would give them a clue.
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