Saturday
I think some of the key to not falling into that bleak-blue mindset has to include work on things I want to do beyond my job at the U. Part of what I was feeling was being so damn glued to the computer.
Another part of my blue feelings were from the 5% of students who ALWAYS as a semester draws close to ending realize how utterly horridly they are doing in class and then begin to complain and whine and beg for "extra credit" or "my scores must be wrong somehow, I always get 'As' in all my classes" or some similar type of thing. When it happens in person, in my office, I have become adept enough to find a neutral face and explain to them as gently as I can muster how unfortunately, their grade is what they have created through the course of the semester. BUT, in electronic teaching..... the interactions are electronic.... and I am being flooded by this same 5% with e-mails, and they are SO, SO much worse (or perhaps just because it is new to me) than the face-to-face whining. The writing used in the e-mail belies the stress they feel, I guess... but it is often so poorly written and sometimes bordering on aggressive that it flummoxes me beyond my abilities. Trying to write a reply back that is "neutral" and attempts to be kind and guiding and not replying back to some of what they say with frustration, or anger, or sarcasm is harder for me than I anticipated. I have taken to writing my reply in a draft form first, and then letting it sit for at least 2-3 hours.... and then re-reading what I wrote to make sure I am not adding to their hysteria.... but instead just stating (as calmly as I can muster) the facts of their situation.
PipeTobacco
7 Comments:
But with electronic teaching you could probably come up with a standard template that you could fairly easily edit to suit. As long as there is some difference amongst your replies, this should work.
You could do several optional paragraphs in a database that you could pretty well cut and paste to suit.
Do you give your students a fairly detailed syllabus on the first day of class? If you can tell a student, "Your question or request is addressed on page X of our syllabus" this puts the onus back on them as responsible adults, and may help your replies be far less subjective and emotional.
Also, is your university one of the many that is letting students choose S/NS instead of letter grades even at the end of this Spring 2020 semester? That won't help an "F" which would become an "NS." However, if a student has an "A" GPA but a "C" in your course, an "S" wouldn't lower her GPA.
As for hostile/disturbed messages, does your university have a Psychological Services or Mental Health bureau for troubled students? Maybe if you receive an overtly hostile message, you can reply with an indirection, such as "I appreciate from your message that you may be feeling unusual stress. Don't forget that we have a NAME-OF-SERVICE office for students who need emotional or psychological support in these difficult times." A troubled student might take advantage of the services, and a student who merely communicates like an ass might be made aware of how his communication sounded.
If, however, you get a message that is aggressive or even threatening, can you escalate your response to some kind of Ombudsman at your school, perhaps even reminding the student that some extreme behaviors might put a student's financial aid or even continuing student status at risk?
Yes, you may have students this semester who have seen family members hospitalized for any number of frightening ailments, not just COVID-19. These students might not be well enough off financially to have reliable Internet access to complete their coursework. They may have lost the part-time job that was keeping them housed and fed. But fixing those problems isn't your job. Your job is to evaluate their work in your course. Surely, if one of their family members were sick, they wouldn't want a doctor who was credentialed despite not having mastered the required coursework. You are not doing them, or their future co-workers or clients, any favors by giving them grades they haven't earned. If they did poorly in your course, there are any number of ways they can resolve the matter that don't involve your lying to the world about their mastery of your material. If they are objective, they'll have to realize that. And after their hysteria subsides, the ones who aren't mentally ill should indeed, if grudgingly, be able to realize and accept that.
Yes, a basic template is indeed what I have used. I try to modify it to personalize the communication to each student. Again, though, it is a relatively small percentage. But, it is a stress inducing percentage. :)
PipeTobacco
Pat: Yes, they receive a very detailed syllabus at the start of the semester. And they receive verbal (now e-mail) reminders throughout the semester on various deadlines, etc.
As far as threatening.... fortunately I have had that happen only two or three times in the many decades I have taught. And threatening is usually in the guise of a parent writing to me (which I always write back that I cannot respond to a parent) or the student stops in my office WITH an aggressive parent. Those situations have been extremely rare, fortunately.
What I was mostly referring to in my writings today are students who write in a way that feels aggressive either from their overcharged emotions, or poor writing skills where they do not even “get” that their “requests” are bordering on the rude side or at the very least they are asking for “special favors” that would be obviously wholly unfair to others.
Another kind of aggression is when they write and are bent out of shape and a bit hysterical about some mistaken assumption of theirs that I had written to all of them about (usually two or three times) to advise them of upcoming deadlines, issues, or problems.... and it becomes “my fault” or my “requirement” to fix when they obviously did not read any of the advisements I send out regularly to all students.
Perhaps I just felt a bit more sensitive about it seeing it all written out in front of me by that ~5%.... as I am so much more used to dealing with it face-to-face.
PipeTobacco
Fuk 'em....
Actual I liked ole Milwaukee Beer, wonder if any places still stock it, or is it still being made.
Taking a pause before replying is always a good idea; much easier on line, too.
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