As I’m sure YOU all know by now – even if my students don’t – my homework deadline for the hybrid class is 6 p.m. on Sunday. At about 7 p.m. (allowing time for servers that only send out email in batches), I gather up the assignments that were sent to me, mark the grades in my log, then sign on to the college’s website to take “attendance” for the online class – the homework, or “deliverable,” as the school calls it, is what I’m supposed to use to determine whether a student has ‘attended’ the online class or not.
Last week, one of my lovelies – we’ll call him Tad – sent me his homework to me on Sunday at ten past nine. Keep in mind that Tad has NEVER sent in an assignment on time – ever. I sent him back this note:
Tad, you will not receive credit for this, and you’ve already been marked as absent for the deliverable.
The message must have had SOME effect, though, because he sent his homework in on time this week, albeit with this little love note attached:
that is pretty lame.
To which I replied that I was sorry that he felt that way, but the policy has been the policy since the first day of class.
Now, is it just me, or would ANY of you EVER have thought to speak to a teacher that way – in email or in person?! I’m trying very hard to remember the source and to not take it personally, but I’m consistently stunned by the sheer lack of respect these students seem to have for their teachers. It’s almost enough to put me off of this place.
