The Waiting Room

Addy N had a post about feeling guilty about the grade distribution in her courses. Why does it bother us as instructors if there are a few C's and/or D's in our courses? It almost seems personal. I am not sure why. I often wonder if I am being too hard or am I not requiring enough of my students.

How much control do we have when it comes to student outcomes? If a student chooses not to do the work, despite all of our efforts to assist him or her, should we just write them off? My gut reaction is yes. If you don't complete the work, then you deserve the consequence of a low or failing grade. Then there are those who fall into what I call the "hard C" category. The "Hard C" is those students who come to class, do the work, and get extra help. But the best they can do is a "C". You want to reward the fact that the student really tried, but at the same time, you risk the fear of grade inflation, which ultimately rewards the "D"and "F" students.

The administrators at my college seem to think that the lack of student success is the fault of the faculty. My colleagues and I are bombarded with "What have you done for the students lately?" Graduation rates a down, so in addition to our regular responsibilities, we have to track down the students in our classes to find out why they are not doing well. I teach at a small college with about 1100 students. It would be impossible for me to contact all of my students to find out why they are not doing what they are supposed to do. And, it's not my job.

I have a situation in one of my classes where two students attended regularly and completed any in class work that I assigned when I was absent. I have to have a substitute instructor either teach my classes or give the students busy work. Since not too many of my colleagues are qualified to teach my law classes, I am stuck giving the students busy work. That work was to be submitted upon my return. I use that work as extra credit toward the final grade. Well, there is one student who did complete any of the additional assignments. He also has not submitted a good portion of the course work. As a result, he has an "F" in my class. If I just give him the points that he would have received had he completed the extra assignments, he will pass. (70% is passing at my college). If I don't, he will receive an "F". I am torn, because this student is a pain in the ass and thinks that I treat him unfairly. I did not allow him to turn an assignment that was late because he had a questionable excuse and could not provide documentation to support it. So, do I just pass him to get him out of my hair, or do I fail him because it is not fair to the two that did the extra work?

I don't get any of it.