February 2012 Moms

NBR: Vent about student

I'm not sure if this is the hormones or what, but one of my students is driving me up the wall!  It's the end of the summer semester, and I sent everyone in my class an e-mail telling them their current grades and letting them know what they needed to get to pass the class.  One student absolutely refuses to believe the point value I sent to him/her is correct and has spent the last 2 hours arguing with me about it.  Um, I wrote the rubric, I think I know how to use it correctly!

To make matters worse, he/she is not even trying to be polite about this.  There's never a salutation in the e-mail (not even the first one)--this person just jumps in with how I'm wrong and he/she is right.  I've now explained the scale 3 times, and I'm just sick of it!  All other grade inquiries have at least had a salutation, and all have thanked me when I answered questions for them. Back in my day (said in old lady voice) if I had a question about my grade, I would ask politely, listen to the explanation, and then thank the professor for his/her time.  Kids these day (I say as I wave my cane around).

OK, I feel better now--thanks for letting me vent!


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Re: NBR: Vent about student

  • Oh man, I feel you!  I am in utter disbelief at the lack of social graces kids have these days.  I feel like it wasn't that long ago that I was in school and I would have never treated my teachers the way they treat me.  (But, I guess everyone feels like it wasn't that long ago...) 

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  • what a PITA! I would tell your supervisor/dean/whomever - sounds like someone who is likely to take it 'up the chain'.... hopefully they let it rest though!
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  • I agree with pp, I would relay the information to someone higher up. I can never get over the attitude of some of these students.  Good luck!!! 
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  • I'm guessing this is college level? Because it sounds an awful lot like what my husband goes through and he teaches at a small liberal arts college. His favorite is when students start off emails with "Hey...so..." No Dr./Professor, nothing. 

    Good luck! I wouldn't have the patience to deal with a snotty kid right now!
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  • I too deal with kids, college and high school grade levels, and it really is unbelievable how rude, disrespectful, and pushy they are.  I just think to myself I would have NEVER spoken to an adult that way.  The issue, if you were able to look at if from another perspective, is a lot of times exactly how their parents.  Because I deal with the parents a lot too, it's no wonder these kids are rude, unruly, and just down right ugly...they are only showing how they were raised!!!  On, that note, I definitely feel your pain on this issue because sometimes I want to just scream at them "YOU'RE WELCOME!!!" and see if they get then hint that maybe they should've been nice, polite, said thank you!  Good luck to you!

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  • Yikes, I am going to be sub teaching this year and I know I am going to run into some rudeness.

    Wouldn't you think you would get farther with a teacher if you were polite? Hello! I had to call a teacher once and tell her she had graded me too high. That one hurt a lot. I'm glad I did it, though. She was killed a year later. 

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  • Thanks for all the sympathy, ladies!  It was nice to get that off my chest. 

    Hunterloren, you are some kind of saint for calling about getting your grade lowered!

    And to show not all of my students are so bad:  I have another one who failed the midterm, the final last night, and didn't turn in any lab reports (college bio--so lab reports are a big part of the grade) who needed to pass to transfer.  When I told him/her that it was numerically impossible to pass the class and there was nothing that could be done on the last day of the semester, he/she just calmly asked if he/she could add my fall course.  I'm very impressed with this person's maturity, and it (almost) makes up for the other person's attitude!


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  • And this is why I'm going into technical writing and not teaching. There's no way I could deal with that sort of thing, even without being pregnant.
  • I'm sort of on the "other side" of this since I'm still in college myself. I remember emailing a professor once and when she wrote back she thanked me for writing such a respectful, professional email. She told me she was so impressed with it she had to tell her fellow professors about it! 

    It's amazing what a simple, polite email can do. :)

    ETA: I'm sorry about your experience. I shudder when students are openly disrespectful to a professor and I'm so thankful my mother taught me better. ;) 

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