It's that time of the semester

This week, my tech writers have been unhappy with their workload (even though they have chosen their tasks and their timelines) and thus with me.

Two came into my office last week to tell me how to teach the class: you should lecture more to the whole class; don't talk to people individually in the classroom because "then I don't know what to do: should I start reading something else?"

This comment came after I had given students an activity (to support that day's "educational objective," which I had written on the board and which I had introduced with some talking to the class that evidently the student did not find sufficient as a "lecture").  While students were doing the activity, I circulated around the classroom, commenting on their work, asking if anyone had questions.  A couple of students had questions, so I stopped to talk and answer.

The fellow with this complaint is someone whose only contributions to class discussion come in the form of jokes, often at the expense of his friend, the woman who came into the office with him to "discuss" my teaching.  This young man also spends less than 30 minutes composing his most recent assignments (I ask all students to complete a "cover sheet" with assignments, recording what they did to complete the writing task; most students spend two to four hours creating these current memos.)

So I understand this guy as a lazy, below-average student (he's in law enforcement), and I recognize the type (blame someone else for my own faults).  The young woman, on the other hand, she's a puzzle to me.  After a call from the dean yesterday (yes, after the students talked to me, evidently they were still pissed enough to talk with the dean), I found out that the student is active-duty military.  She's never mentioned that to me before (except in my office to tell me that I had "not given her" extra time to complete a quiz about a month ago when she was at Camp Ripley).

This student is mad at me because she hasn't received a grade for a September assignment: that's true - only two students have received grades because these assignments came in the same time as my grandma's death and funeral, and I had computer problems with the assignments, so I got behind.  I've been up-to-speed with other assignments instead of going back to those -- a problem, to be sure, but one I've explained to students and asked for their patience, something I would appreciate as I continually tweak the course to meet their needs: moving due dates, moving online class dates, adding another hour of "chat" even though it's a huge struggle for me to attend, giving them more chances to do open-book online quizzes.

*Sigh*.  I'm just so tired of trying to teach students to write -- it means I have to read and comment on what they write, such a time-consuming activity.  I have at least one colleague who assigns two papers in a 16-week semester (I have many, many more), the first of which is due week 9 of the semester.  These students are not learning to write: they are just writing anything (I worked with two of them in the writing center, and their "research papers" consisted of a pastiche from Wikipedia and other sources, a cut-and-paste that would cause an F in my course).

I am struggling with knowing how to be a good, ethical teacher in an environment that doesn't support those kinds of teachers.  What do I sacrifice?  How do I compromise?

Klepto Class

I'm beginning to think I have a kleptomaniac in one of my classes. Two very strange things have happened.

Strange thing one:
On the very first day of writing class, Aug. 24, my textbook was missing at the end of class. That's pretty odd since I bring my texts to every class. I thought maybe a student took mine home by mistake, and the mistake would be realized quickly because my text had notes, post-its, bookmarks, paper clips stuck all through it.

No one had my book when I asked on Aug. 26. Two students had dropped the course in the interim, so I suppose one of them could have the book and not know it.

Strange thing two:
Today, my car key went missing from that same writing class. I wore unusual clothes today -- boy's jeans and a t-shirt -- because I was doing a "gender is performance" talk in my women-and-gender-studies course later in the day. I wanted students to notice how differently I was dressed for this class meeting: I've worn skirts every day so far.

As I was walking to my first class, the writing class, I had put my office keys and car key in my jeans pocket, but it felt weird. I remember thinking, "But the point is to carry your keys in your pocket if you're doing masculinity." But I don't remember what I did with the keys after that.

At the end of the first class, which was a wild workshop because students had so many questions about the first essay portfolio they were turning in, I looked for my keys on top of my books -- just my office keys. "Oh, I must have left the car key in the office," I thought, and ran to the restroom for a quick break between classes.

Taught the second class, went back to the office to grade and read, then finally at 7:30 got ready to leave: no keys. Looked everywhere I'd been: no keys. The car's still in the parking lot, so no one's stolen it (which would have been easy since the keyring has an electronic locking/unlocking device), but still I have no car keys.

Luckily, Laura came to get me. Luckily, I have a spare set of keys and a spare car so I can get to work tomorrow.

But it's extremely, extremely weird that two things have gone missing during the same class. What other explanation can there be?

Why? That's a good question

I've decided to post another student message to my blog because my readers are offering helpful ways for me to understand my students.

In a night American Lit course at a local "urban" university, one student has me puzzled. S/he and I have already had conversations about the class, specifically about the student's lack of participation, and these conversations (both in person and via email) have gone fairly well, or so I thought.

But yesterday I read something on the course discussion board (under "Q&A about Course Policies, Procedures, Features"). Here's the complete post:

"Why the focus on group work? It doesn't illuminate anything. Closed, selective groups do not provide for open debate. It is a miserable experience to come to class every night and have to suffer. Nothing was said in a group that an individual couldn't do as well.

"It's a waste of time. What happened to good old-fashioned writing in response to literature. I get nothing out of the group experience except a headache. I resent that my grade is based on group participation. No one in this course helped my pay my tuition and book fees, so why is my grade based on group participation?

"I get the feeling that the lessons are not planned but made up on the spot."

Many other students responded to this post before I saw it. Those students all said that "group work" was valuable. Only one student acknowledged that such work was hard for her/him, too, and encouraged the unhappy student, "Don't give up on it!"

I, too, wrote a long response, which I may post in a separate blog entry. But I'd be curious to know what my colleagues would do in this situation.