mean TA

[abka]

ug, I feel like a jerk. Each week in section I give a short geography, reading, or slide quiz. Each is 1% of their final grade. I always have students who miss class and miss the quiz. My policy is that you need to tell me well in advance or have written documentation of why you missed. So far I've given one make-up quiz to a woman who had to go to her brother's wedding. This sucks if you're sick because often there's no one to give you a note, but I don't want to argue with people about how sick they are or not. (One woman emailed that she had been sick for days, but then that afternoon I saw her at the gym doing over an hour of intensive cardio. Quick recovery.)

Yesterday a student missed class because her son had a fever and she had to stay home with him. I understand that she didn't have a choice and frankly applaud her for going to school, working, and raising a child. She was (understandably) mad that I said I needed a note. (I'm thinking just get someone at daycare, or in a pinch your friend to write a note, I don't really care, I just need something so I don't end up arguing with the kid who was sick with the finishing-work-for-another-class illness, but I can't really email that to her.) The students here will debate the TAs about anything from making up a quiz to the paper grade. One student lied about turning in a paper, and then when a TA called her on it, she had to gall to email and write "I guess I didn't really turn it in, do I still get any credit?" Credit for what? Not doing any work and then lying to someone's face about it?

Anyway, I still feel like a jerk. I don't know if I should just make an exception, but I do have policies for a reason and I don't want to undermine my own authority. But then I would like to make life easier not harder for students trying to balance work and family. Of course it's 1% of the final grade which really means I've spent way more energy than necessary thinking about this makeup quiz when I should be grading papers.

Comments

[coffman.livejournal.com]

"I guess I didn't really turn it in, do I still get any credit?" Credit for what? Not doing any work and then lying to someone's face about it?

Man, I gotta use that line some day! ;-)


For some reason the little-quizzes-that-make-up-1%-of-your-grade thing makes me think of my trigonometry class in high school. Each day's homework was worth a certain small percentage of your class grade, and so few students were doing the homework that the teacher instituted a small bonus quiz each day to help people earn back lost points so that they could pass the class (yes, the situation was that pathetic). What was awesome was that the quizzes were worth three times as much as the homework - so even though this policy was implemented midway through the term, the extra points yielded by these quizzes made it possible for me to get a final mark in the class of 108% (exceeded by my friend K. who got 114%). Not that I'm suggesting you implement this policy. =)

[mrsjadephoenix.livejournal.com]

That sucks. I understand why the woman would be frustrated with something like that, but still, it seems like your policy is pretty clear and reasonable, all things considered. Was she aware of the policy before she missed the class?

[abka.livejournal.com]

She was aware that she needed to contact me and needed a reasonable excuse. I'm going to be more explicit about needing something in writing next semester. A sick kid is a reasonable excuse.

[fatwetdog.livejournal.com]

^_^ Could you get her to get her kid to write the note for her?
How come she didn't email you to be like "Yo, I'm missing class cause my kid came down sick." when it happened?

[abka.livejournal.com]

She did. She emailed me and said "my kid is sick, when can I make up the quiz" and I said "hope your kid feels better, you can make up the quiz if you have a note" and she said "why do I need a note, my kid wasn't sick enough to go to the doctor [extended rant]" and I said "a note from daycare is fine, but I need something in writing."

[metallian.livejournal.com]

Man, you and mrsmetallian should swap student stories sometime...

[abka.livejournal.com]

It's wierd, but I've never even met mrsmetallian. Yes, I'm sure she also has some gems.

[metallian.livejournal.com]

Oh, yeah, you haven't...I forgot!

But, yeah, I've heard about all kinds of bad behavior. My favorites are the ones who don't show up for class or do any work for weeks and weeks and then all of a sudden decide that they care about their grades after all and just outright beg for a better grade...with no excuses or offers to do extra work or anything! Fortunately, that seems to be an "intro class" problem.

[leyba.livejournal.com]

Some people need to grow up. And I don't mean you. I mean students. Sometimes you have to suck it up and take the lower grade. Remember nonemorecomic's references to The Four Agreements? One of the tenets in that book is to always do your best. But realize that your best today might be different from your best tomorrow. That second part is the real lesson.

Maybe I was a bit more mature at Dartmouth because I was a couple years older when I went back, and because I had some perspective on life and had been down in the dumps, but I can't tell you how many times I got a crappy grade on something (like a 'D' or 'C') and hadn't been feeling well in the run-up to the exam, paper, whatever. Then to see other grade-hounds bitch at the teacher for a couple more points or to understand why they didn't do better when they got a B+ instead of an A- or whatever was just ridiculously galling.

I got a D in Chemistry 1B at DeAnza (the community college whose classes I took while on medical leave, and where I take a class from time to time). I know why I got it--I didn't turn in enough of my lab writeups, even though I had been to every lab and did OK (not great, but OK) on the exams. I was also carrying 21 units and working 55 hours a week at two jobs. I celebrated Thursday mornings that quarter, as that was my only time off in all week, weekends included. There just wasn't time (nor commitment) to finish those lab reports in the face of everything else. Sometimes you just have to suck it up and deal. No one is entitled to a perfect transcript.

And lying about your inability to perform (or other issues) is not acceptable.

I think requiring a note validating people's excuses is a reasonable requirement for the opportunity to do something over, turn something in late, etc. If they're telling the truth this should be fairly easily done.

Don't feel like a jerk. Emphasize where you're coming from and the responsibilities and duties you all have. Don't compromise your authority.

[abka.livejournal.com]

Thanks. Some of my students have been great. They email and say "I'm sorry I missed class I had illness/family thing/other work/etc." and I know I can't make up the quiz, but I just wanted you to know why I wasn't there and that I'm taking the class seriously. That's cool. I take that into account. This student is being pretty reasonable. Some of them though are so stressed because they're doing poorly on the quizzes. I don't know why they just don't either study more and raise their grade or decide that they're not going to study more and take the lower grade. It's just all about time and priorities. I don't take it personally if they have other things to do, just don't lie and whine about it.

[leyba.livejournal.com]

I liked the one who missed class 'cause s/he was in jail. That was awesome.

[abka.livejournal.com]

So did we. The story made it around the dept. and we laughed and laughed. I think it was a he and he did bring in a piece of paper from the jail saying he had been there.