November 25, 2008

A Little Respect

Today I arrived on campus to find student evaluations in my mailbox. Since all but one of my speech students was attending class today, I decided to get it over with. I had to hand them out and then leave the room for 10 minutes while they evaluate me, place the evaluations in a sealed envelope and deliver it without me touching them again.

After about five minutes, one of my students came out to go to the bathroom. I asked her if they were about finished and she said she just had to tell me about a little conversation that was going on in the classroom.

Apparently, one of my students who spent almost the entire semester skipping class and not showing up for speeches was stumped on one of the questions. The question was: "What grade do you expect to earn in this class?"

"What should I put for this?" he said, knowing full well that he's failing.

The student sitting beside him said, "Well that's easy. Just write zero."

The failing student responded with, "Yeah, but I don't want anyone to think it's her fault" ("her" meaning me). 

My other student responded back, "Well then just write in the comments section, 'I'm a total douche, never come to class and don't turn anything in, but it's not her fault.'"

Apparently that settled it.

It's nice to know that even those who won't pass at least respect me as a teacher.  

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Posted by on November 25, 2008 in Back in the Classroom | 12 Comments

Comments

12 Comments on A Little Respect

  1. Avitable on Tue, 25th Nov 2008 2:02 pm

    2. After the rat incident, it feels pretty clear that you’ve got a class that likes you.

  2. Steve on Tue, 25th Nov 2008 3:41 pm

    3. LOL. I think it’s actually quite refreshing to see a kid take responsibility for his actions. I mean, yeah, he failed your class, but he didn’t try to blame anyone but himself. Good for him.
    While he may be a terrible student, he’s clearly got integrity. Just needs to work on his work ethic. 😀

  3. Black Belt Mama on Tue, 25th Nov 2008 4:19 pm

    4. I agree completely. I had quite a good laugh when I heard that comment. I guess by college age, kids learn to take responsibilty for their actions or lack of action. That certainly wasn’t the case when I taught 9th and 10th grade.

  4. Martial Arts Mom on Tue, 25th Nov 2008 7:39 pm

    5. Restores your faith in humanity, doesn’t it?

  5. psumommy on Tue, 25th Nov 2008 10:13 pm

    6. Wow…I’m so impressed. Every other failing student I’ve met (from the perspective of a returning adult student, not a teacher) completely blamed the teacher. That kid is a breath of fresh air, even if he did fail the class!

  6. Rezbi on Wed, 26th Nov 2008 5:48 am

    7. That’s a nice little story.
    I used to teach Business at high school and, the other day, my son came home and said one of the boys from that school came by to meet him just because he’s my son.
    It’s nice when things like that happen.
    Rezbi
    A Dave Turton instructor

  7. Deryck on Wed, 26th Nov 2008 6:54 am

    8. That’s pretty cool – he’s obviously never going to make a politician though!

  8. pawpads on Wed, 26th Nov 2008 8:26 am

    9. Good that he was able to accept responsibility.

  9. Finn on Wed, 26th Nov 2008 12:14 pm

    10. Impressive. Says a lot about you!

  10. Black Belt Mama on Wed, 26th Nov 2008 12:25 pm

    11. I agree. He’s a super nice kid and I so wanted him to do well. But he just couldn’t get it together this semester.

  11. Black Belt Mama on Wed, 26th Nov 2008 12:30 pm

    12. This is a different class. I’m just hoping I get a good group next semester. These were a great group of kids.

  12. Black Belt Mama on Wed, 26th Nov 2008 12:31 pm

    13. Tell me about it!

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