A Sticky Situation

This isn't as much a blog as it is a prompt. I received an email from a student, who I haven't seen in over a month-and-a-half, asking me if there was any way he could get a passing grade in the class. I have posted his email and my reply below. I'd like to know your thoughts on my response and how you might have done things. Although I'm confident that I handled the problem in a professional manner, I'm not sure that I made the right decision.

STUDENT E-MAIL

Casey,

I know I am missing two big assignments and have had bad attendance. I would like to apologize for this, I have had a family thing happening over the course of the semester and have been in St. Louis a lot over the semester. I really need the credit hours provided by this class however and am asking if there is any way that I would be able to finish the class with a passing grade at the end this semester. I know I should have been emailing you but it seems like I haven't had any time. I return to springfield on wednsday. Thank you for your patience and I am anxious for your response.

Thanks

MY RESPONSE

First of all, I am sorry to hear that you are having personal problems; sometimes life just doesn't want to cooperate with classes, and I'm not going to pretend that I haven't experienced the same thing. However, you have missed 3 assignments(350 points) because one is due on Thursday, and at this point there is simply no way for you to make a passing grade in the class. I haven't seen or heard from you since the beginning of March, and although I understand that you're having issues in St. Louis, I must adhere to the English Department guidelines. Had you communicated with me this semester, we might have been able to work something out as the semester progressed, but we only have three weeks left and it's just too late. You must get a C in ENG 110 in order to get credit for it, so your best option is going to be to just drop the course and take an "I" so that it doesn't affect your GPA.

I'm sorry it has to be this way, but I cannot allow you to have missed nearly the entire semester and still, in good conscience, give you a C in the class. It just isn't fair to the rest of the class--especially since they have been attending and participating all semester. It only takes 5 minutes to send an email, and the fact that you did not communicate with me adds to my decision. I'm sorry that this isn't the answer you are looking for, but I must do what is best for the other students as well as what is best for the department's integrity.

Best Regards

I anticipate a wealth of commentary and insight from my wonderful fellow-GAs!

The Case of the Missing Drafts

I'm not going to even pretend here because this type of scenario has happened to me more than once. It seems that no matter how much you threaten, remind, or deduct points from students, some of them still don't understand that they need the multiple drafts. I generally just take points off if all of the components are not there--especially if the student missed the workshop and doesn't have that particular draft. I take 5 points off for not having a peer-edited draft and 10 points off for not having the draft with my comments. Thus, if they turn in the final draft by itself, they automatically have an 85 before I even start taking off points for other things. Perhaps I should be more strict with point deductions, but I've found that most times these lonely final drafts end up with Cs or Ds, which could have been prevented had the student turned in all of the materials. I also make sure to note on the draft how many points I deducted and for what; this way they can visualize how detrimental not having all of the drafts can be to their grades.

As far as not turning in the reflective essay, I would certainly go as far as to fail the paper. If an exterior assignment was given to be turned in along with the paper, then not having that assignment causes the paper to be incomplete. I would just fail the paper or give the student another class period to get it to me (with deductions for lateness, of course).

I've never been as extreme as to fail or not accept papers that don't have all of the component drafts. I feel that docking points is enough, and if they can't learn their lesson after a few assignments, then it's just apparent that they don't care. I make it a point to verbally remind students the class period before a final draft is due that they must bring all initial drafts and workshop sheets; I've also sent out email reminders on occasion. Alas, it seems that I can never get ALL of them to comply. If they can't get the hint from all of the points they're losing, then nothing will get them to do it. I don't feel that failing the paper or not accepting the assignment is the right answer, but perhaps I need to go to more extreme measures and see if they work.

A Book Suggestion for All GAs

I have a suggestion for a book that should be required reading not only for all teachers in all disciplines, but especially for incoming GAs at Missouri State University. It could be used either during training for first-year GAs, during ENG 603, or both. It is a text that spans the entire teaching profession and would act as an effective and concise guide for all novice instructors. In fact, it is required reading in ENG 670 (Teaching Technical Writing).

The book is Teaching Tips: Strategies, Research, and Theory for College and University Teachers by Wilbert J. McKeachie, and it is currently in its twelfth edition, which should give you some idea as to its notoriety. McKeachie is an esteemed Professor of Psychology and former Director for the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching at the University of Michigan, where he has taught since 1949. In this tiny book (roughly the size of a trade paperback), McKeachie addresses nearly every facet of teaching and pays special attention to new instructors. The book has 26 brief chapters which cover everything from the first day of class to grading methods, ethics, and classroom diversity. I've included a brief list below of some of the content discussed in the text.

In addition to encompassing a wide range of teaching topics, McKeachie treats each topic concisely and provides examples from his and his colleagues' own experiences. It is an easy book to just sit down and read cover-to-cover, but it is also effective as a reference for specific issues one might have in the classroom (the "problem" student, effective lectures, cheating, etc.). I would highly recommend that every current GA take a look at Teaching Tips, and that the university should consider making it required reading for all incoming GAs in the future.

Topics Included (brief version):

• Course preparation and meeting a class for the first time
• Active learning and facilitating discussion
• Grading and testing
• Student psychology and cultural diversity
• Teaching with technology (A Cadle fave! :)
• Role of the teacher
• Ethics and the vitality and growth of the teacher

McKeachie, Wilbert J. Teaching Tips: Strategies, Research, and Theory for College and University Teachers. 12th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2006.

Writing What We Teach

The Writing What We Teach assignment seemed beneficial both to myself and to my students. Through my composing the textual analysis assignment with them, the students were able to visualize the techniques discussed in class and see them put to practical use. As I learned last semester, the students seem to struggle most with this particular paper, so I think it helped them feel more comfortable and confident with their own writing.

I chose to use a piece that wasn't from The Presence of Others, so that students would not be able to model my own paper. However, I feel that by seeing my use of introduction, thesis statement, and topic sentences, they were able to better understand how to put these concepts to use; the subject didn't matter--it was the method of execution that they needed to see. This ended up producing far stronger papers than I received last semester, and it also helped me to explore what I like to see in a good textual analysis.