The class I TA for this semester has lectures at 9am on Mondays and Wednesdays. There are daily attendance quizzes; students get one point for showing up and writing their name on an index card, and an additional point for correctly answering a multiple-choice question which is projected on the screen for only the first few minutes of each lecture period. Students who show up late are still encouraged to turn in the cards with their names so that they at least get credit for being present.
One chronically late student, who usually turns in cards with his name only (when he remembers to turn in cards at all) wrote the following on one of his cards a few weeks ago: "...So I'm not always the most punctual pupil first thing in the morning. This has been an ongoing issue for me. No disrespect intended. Not specific to this class." Since then, his attendance has remained basically the same- spotty.
I've got to say that I like the kid for his honesty. My impression of him from discussions and writing assignments so far is that he's a reasonably bright and likable fellow, though not particularly concerned with convention or conformity; he does his work thoughtfully and consistently, and he's one of those rare students who will actually engage in constructive disagreements with his classmates. Maybe the threat of getting a lower grade does not affect his tardiness because he genuinely doesn't care about grades. Fair enough- I can certainly respect that. I'll take a student who cares about learning over a student who cares about grades any day.
On the other hand, though, it grates on me that he'll probably end up getting a lower grade in the class because he can't get himself out of bed to show up on time for the daily quizzes. I'm not a morning person myself, but I've never yet been late for a class. As far as being a responsible adult goes, showing up on time is pretty low-hanging fruit. I wish I could get that across to him.
In situations like these, I always wonder precisely what my responsibilities to my students are. Am I simply providing them with opportunities to learn analytic concepts? Should I be concerned with socializing them into certain norms of behavior (punctuality, giving a damn about grades) that will supposedly help them to become more responsible adults? Should it bother me that the grades I give don't always truly reflect what I believe to be the students' actual intellectual abilities? Am I participating in a system that's designed to turn them into mindless little conformity robots?
Bah... why does catching up on attendance records have to turn into a crisis of confidence in the American higher education system? Meanwhile, I'm nursing a nasty cold. Time to crack open another gallon of orange juice.
One chronically late student, who usually turns in cards with his name only (when he remembers to turn in cards at all) wrote the following on one of his cards a few weeks ago: "...So I'm not always the most punctual pupil first thing in the morning. This has been an ongoing issue for me. No disrespect intended. Not specific to this class." Since then, his attendance has remained basically the same- spotty.
I've got to say that I like the kid for his honesty. My impression of him from discussions and writing assignments so far is that he's a reasonably bright and likable fellow, though not particularly concerned with convention or conformity; he does his work thoughtfully and consistently, and he's one of those rare students who will actually engage in constructive disagreements with his classmates. Maybe the threat of getting a lower grade does not affect his tardiness because he genuinely doesn't care about grades. Fair enough- I can certainly respect that. I'll take a student who cares about learning over a student who cares about grades any day.
On the other hand, though, it grates on me that he'll probably end up getting a lower grade in the class because he can't get himself out of bed to show up on time for the daily quizzes. I'm not a morning person myself, but I've never yet been late for a class. As far as being a responsible adult goes, showing up on time is pretty low-hanging fruit. I wish I could get that across to him.
In situations like these, I always wonder precisely what my responsibilities to my students are. Am I simply providing them with opportunities to learn analytic concepts? Should I be concerned with socializing them into certain norms of behavior (punctuality, giving a damn about grades) that will supposedly help them to become more responsible adults? Should it bother me that the grades I give don't always truly reflect what I believe to be the students' actual intellectual abilities? Am I participating in a system that's designed to turn them into mindless little conformity robots?
Bah... why does catching up on attendance records have to turn into a crisis of confidence in the American higher education system? Meanwhile, I'm nursing a nasty cold. Time to crack open another gallon of orange juice.
"Should it bother me that the grades I give don't always truly reflect what I believe to be the students' actual intellectual abilities?"
ReplyDeleteThey're not supposed to represent (perceived) ability, they're supposed to represent the quality of work submitted :) So I understand feeling wistful about/frustrated at the student who seems like he is underperforming but, really, you can't make him go to bed earlier and use an alarm clock. If conformity = punctuality then count me in favour.
You're right, I know grades aren't supposed to represent perceived ability. It just annoys me when my perception of what the student *could* do doesn't match up with what the student *does.* Shouldn't be my problem, but he seems like a good kid and I wish he were more responsible. I guess I'm also annoyed that the kids who aren't all that bright but have learned to "jump through the hoops" may end up getting higher grades.
ReplyDelete