Yesterday, one of my colleagues told me that my Critical Thinking student had committed plagiarism last semester. The DI had a record of the plagiarism. So, when I asked if the student would be dismissed for a second incident of academic dishonesty, the DI said no. Her reasoning was that one incident was plagiarism and one was dishonesty and they are two different things.
But, I thought both cases are dishonesty, and therefore, the student should be dismissed. But NOOOOOO!
Fast forward to today. The Di (Dean of Instruction) and I meet with the student who received “help” with her paper. She admitted that her brother helped her by telling her what to write. She had a difficult time understanding why this was a problem. We had to explain to her that help with a paper does not include having someone else supply the information or thoughts.
Then I had to explain to her that she was going to fail the course because she did not turn in her research paper. I set up my grading so that a student cannot pass any of my courses if they do not submit a research paper. I do not believe that a student should pass a course and not complete a major element.
The student was absolutely devastated. She thought we were punishing her because she did not speak English well. She complained that the paper was too hard because of her limited language skills and that was why she did not submit the paper. (Those are my words, not hers). That is a load of crap. I hand out my project during the third week of the semester. The students turn in portions throughout the semester, so that I can check on their progress. She knows that she can see me, her English professor or go to the tutoring center for help. So, the language argument is just an excuse.
So, there is a good chance that this student will be in my Critical Thinking class this summer. Great…just fucking great.
I don’t know what makes me more pissed, the fact that the student played the language barrier card as a means to gain sympathy, or my boss for not having the guts to admit that the student messed up and should be dismissed.
Ah...the joy of academia
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.
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6 comments:
Are there any other non-native English speakers in your class? If she continues to fight, you could point out that other non-native speakers successfully finished the assignment. You'd have to do this without naming names, but it will probably be obvious if there are other students in the class with serious language issues.
I take it you would not have penalized her for poor language skills if she'd managed to write the paper and get her point across?
There is one other non native speaker in the class and she is having similar problems. All semester, I have offered to help them with their writing and have encouraged them to seek help. This student even sought help at another college.
I would not have penalized her greatly for her language, so long as she was getting the proper help that she needs. When she did seek help from the tutoring center, her work was much better. Not perfect, but better.
Students should really not be taking a class that involves substantial reading and writing if they can not read and write. So, they should learn English before taking a class where they need to use English.
I fight a similar fight with physics. They want to take physics before they take sufficient math, and they bomb the class. I have had students take my calculus based physics while they were concurrently enrolled in remedial math. Needless to say they didn't last.
Astroprof - I can beat that - I had students p*ssed they couldn't retake Calc 1 while taking Calc 2.
I don't think you should be allowed in college if you can't grasp "prerequisite".
This frustrates me to know end. I just don't understand the whole ESL thing. I sincerely need someone to explain to me why it's OK to come to / or go to another country and expect to plead poor language skills as an excuse for failing to do passing work? I would not attempt to go to Europe and study because my language skills are still minimal. I can read decently but I can't imagine doing quality written work. Why do students think we should be sympathetic on this? Am I being bigoted? I don't mean to be. I just really think our blogging friend is being put into an untenable position.
If your student's language skills are that poor, how did she get into your course?
A friend of mine who teaches ESL says that there is a cutural component to what we consider plagiarizing in the West--that other cultures don't view it as we do, and so what seems galling to us is acceptable to others. Don't know if this has any bearing on your case, but thought I'd mention it. However, by the time a student gets to your course, she should know better.
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