Yeah, you beat the system...bite me.

[Lockseer]

Currently, I'm pursuing my doctorate. One of the benefits of this (I think) is that I have been given my own class to teach. Not an graduate assistant to a professor, but my very own class. Juniors and seniors. I love it. Favorite part of the whole program, actually.

Never really had a problem with students...until this summer.

Student X, as he/she will be known, had the following impressive stats:

1) Missed the first six days of class because he/she thought it met the second session of the summer, not the first

2) Missed seven more days later in the term, six of which were due to a "family emergency." In total, Student X officially missed half the class periods in the summer session.

3) He/she claimed in an e-mail (the day before the class ended) that he/she turned in all but two of the class lab exercises late. I counter with "You've only turned in ONE of the ten exercises, period." He/she proceeds to claim he/she slipped them under my office door.

Okay...at this point, I start getting angry. First of all, I had told my students repeatedly (the one's that show up, at least) to submit assignments to my mailbox...putting them under my door is not appropriate. Secondly, I received no assignments, and have never lost an assignment in the year I have been teaching...let alone NINE assignment from the SAME STUDENT.

I tell him/her as much, as boldly state "You must have slipped them under someone else's door, because I would have received them had it been my door." I proceed to express my concern that he/she 1) never informed me that I should look for them slipped under my door (other students follow up when they simply put them in my mailbox) and 2) never inquired as to why I wasn't handed graded assignments back to him/her, when all the students around him/her are receiving their assignments back. He/she states that I handed back assignments at the very end of class, and he/she always left when I got done lecturing. Wrong...I handed back assignments at the beginning and in the middle of class, as well.

Anywho, I inform the head of our department of this situation (the student isn't going to pass without those assignments, let alone get a 2.0), and she informs me "This is a student whose name I'm very familiar with. Don't let him/her scam you into giving him/her a grade they didn't earn." I tell the student my hands are tied, and I'm bound by the syllabus...his/her only recourse is to talk to the department head.

So I return from Fourth of July weekend to find myself copied on this message from the department head to the student: "Ultimately, the decision is up to Prof. Lockseer. However, I think most instructors would be willing to let you make up the missed assignments with proper documentation."

Holy 180's, Batman! Here, I thought I had the support of my department head, only to find out I'm being pushed into allowing this punk/punkette to make up the "missing assignments!" Yes, I know it was "up to" me, but the phrasing made it rather clear what I was expected to do.

Long story short, I gave the student 48 hours to re-submit the missing assignments. I received them and graded them...and he/she was .22% (yes, less than 1%) above the 2.0 range. He/she almost missed his/her 2.0 mark anyway. Thing is, the assignments were subjective, so he/she may have just as easily failed had I graded it in a different mood.

So...one more student entering the world having learned they can buck the system and manipulate those in power. Who knew I was teaching such valuable life lessons? *Bashes head repeatedly against wall*

[Really Not All That Bright]

Resistance is futile, teacher.

[Ms Boods]

Crikey, Lockseer, I sympathise! When I was but a lowly TA, it drove me mad to have my authority undermined by the lecturing prof, and it happened more than once. (And not just to me -- there was practically a coup d'etat when an ABD faculty wife treated her TAs as little more than slaves, and frequently changed complaining students' grades -- the students soon learnt she would do this with ease, and her 5 TAs finally rebelled against her, and said if she wished to grade all 300 students' exams on her own, she was welcome to it.)

One tries to be professional, and the students -- or a certain type of student -- knows he/she will get away with just about anything, because one isn't a real professor, just a grad student (where I was for grad school, undergraduates could do no wrong, and grads were at the bottom of the heap.)

I had a student who was daughter to faculty in the same department who was an absolute cow in section, because, as she told everyone, if I tried to do anything, her dad would have me sacked. In fact, when she received a B on an exam, she came down the crowded hallway towards me, waving the paper over her head, asking me why I was such a bitch. Festive! She did actually get her dad to speak to my professor to try to have me sacked; in this case, my professor quietly informed him that he daughter was a manipulative little twit. To his credit, he sadly had to agree.

The one that absolutely infuriated me, though, was a nasty piece of work who would stop at nothing to get at me because of his own laziness. He came late to section, if at all, and hated to turn in assignments. He once offered me unlimited use of his car if I would give him a passing grade on an exam (a fellow TA told me I ought to have said, 'Cool!' and then driven the thing back and forth to LA 7 times). He also informed me, on receiving a generous C on an exam, that he had been to an exclusive prep school and have never, ever received such a low grade before. My response? Congratulations! He also threw a fit when he found out that I allowed another student in his section to photocopy my notes -- cos I wouldn't let HIM photocopy my lecture notes...er, that's cos the other student had a broken arm.

The absolutely infuriating stunt he pulled, came after he overheard another TA and I teasing a couple of students from that TA's section. They were all good natured kids, and were asking us, did we grade them by tossing the exams down a flight of steps, with the steps marked A, B, etc. Just silly stuff. Bear in mind, my student was not only not involved in this conversation (sitting several rows away but watching intently), but again, the kids involved were giggling and very good students having a laugh.

Cut to a few days later, my professor hauls me into his office and demands an explanation for the racist comments I made about a student! (This was a different prof from the one above). I was absolutely gobsmacked, and told him I had no idea what he was talking about. He said he would NOT tell me who the student was, nor precisely what the student had said, but that this student was extremely distressed that I had been teasing him about his grades, and how much I enjoyed flunking him because of the colour of his skin -- I found out later it was this kid who did this, from some of the snarky things he said to me.

At the time, I asked the professor which student said these things about me, but he said I had no right to know (!), and that I was on probation, and if he learnt I was saying any more racist and offensive comments I would be booted from the programme. To say I was gutted is an understatement -- I have never, ever been racist nor would ever do something such as that, and to have this professor automatically assume that I was this horrible really hurt me (this was my dissertation director, too, and I thought he knew me better than that.) This kid was well pleased with himself, and I never really got on with my director after that.

Absolutely bonkers.

[Otto]

Long story short, I gave the student 48 hours to re-submit the missing assignments. I received them and graded them...and he/she was .22% (yes, less than 1%) above the 2.0 range. He/she almost missed his/her 2.0 mark anyway. Thing is, the assignments were subjective, so he/she may have just as easily failed had I graded it in a different mood.

So...one more student entering the world having learned they can buck the system and manipulate those in power. Who knew I was teaching such valuable life lessons? *Bashes head repeatedly against wall* If the assignment is subjective, re-grade it and fail him/her. Before the next class you teach, set forth an attendance policy in the syllabus that would ensure someone missing that many classes fails. Set forth a coursework policy that states unambiguously that assignments are to be turned in to you personally or placed in your mailbox, and that assignments not turned in in this fashion will be graded ZERO and no make-up assignments will be offered, and for every day the assignment is late the grade will be reduced by 10%. Every college course I've ever taken included attendance and assignment criteria.

S/he's learning the lesson that s/he can manipulate the system because you, part of the system, are allowing him/her to manipulate you.

[Lockseer]

If the assignment is subjective, re-grade it and fail him/her. Before the next class you teach, set forth an attendance policy in the syllabus that would ensure someone missing that many classes fails. Set forth a coursework policy that states unambiguously that assignments are to be turned in to you personally or placed in your mailbox, and that assignments not turned in in this fashion will be graded ZERO and no make-up assignments will be offered, and for every day the assignment is late the grade will be reduced by 10%. Every college course I've ever taken included attendance and assignment criteria.

S/he's learning the lesson that s/he can manipulate the system because you, part of the system, are allowing him/her to manipulate you.

The syllabus lays out the following:

1) You get four absences. Each absence beyond the first four eats into your "Attendance and Participation" grade. At the very onset of the semester, when he/she (okay, screw it, it's a he) missed the first six classes, saying he hadn't known the class had even started, I foolishly told him that due to the extenuating circumstances, I would start his attendance record from Day Seven. The attendance policy was then trumped by the department head's proclamation.

2) Students get a 10% reduction in their grade for an assignment for each day it is turned in late. This is in the syllabus. Most of the assignments would be worth zero points if turned in at the end of the semester, but again, this was trumped by the department head's e-mail. I ended up grading each 10-point assignment on an 8-point scale.

3) Will definitely address how NOT to turn in assignments in future syllabi.

4) I graded the assignments in green pen, so would look highly suspicious if I graded, then went back and changed the grade. Also, although some were subjective, there was certain vague info I was looking to be included, and I graded him on the same basis as all others.

5) My biggest regret is that out of the 20 points available for attendance, I told him in an e-mail he would only be receiving 10 points. If I had said zero, he would not have passed. I should have stuck to my guns, but didn't want to (a) go back on what I said at the beginning of the semester about those days not counting and (b) deal with a "death in the family" issue. But still...13 out of 29 days missed? Definitely cracking down in the fall...

[Trunk]

what was his major. . .psychology or sociology?

[that rude joke is based on experience]

[Lockseer]

what was his major. . .psychology or sociology?

[that rude joke is based on experience]

Heh. Neither, actually...but teacher/student confidentiality prevents me from saying more. :rolleyes:

[Ms Boods]

You'll find the longer you teach, the more detailed and complex your syllabus will become, as you seek to close every loophole the students can find! And they still won't read it, according to colleagues...and in my own experience with music students.

[Lockseer]

You'll find the longer you teach, the more detailed and complex your syllabus will become, as you seek to close every loophole the students can find! And they still won't read it, according to colleagues...and in my own experience with music students.

Ah, yes. They don't read it...which is why we have the time-honored tradition of "Syllabus Day," that first day of class where you go over it with the students and make sure they are clear on it. Of course, students are more likely to also skip this first day of class, and it doesn't help students who perhaps add the class after the first couple days of the semester.

[NurseCarmen]

Ya buckled.

[Ms Boods]

My partner does the same thing, the Reading of the Syllabus...he's got it down to an art, humiliating the ones who try to claim they didn't know, it wasn't on the syllabus, waaa! Invariably, the ones who pull this stunt are ones who were there; when people add later, he always warns them to go over the syllabus and ask him any questions if there's ever any doubt.

He gives them a hard copy, and also has a copy on the class website, and he's had students try to hack into the latter to change stuff...crikey, if you're going to go through that much trouble, just follow the rules to begin with!

He's said he's going to have 'Read the syllabus' carved on his headstone...

[Metacom]

Ya buckled.
Yup.

The department head said "with proper documentation."

Did the student provide "proper documentation" for the family emergency?

[Lockseer]

Ya buckled.

Oh, I agree. But largely due to the pressure of my department chair, who said that most instructors would be willing to allow a student in his situation to make up the missing assignments. I could have still stood by the "Prof. Lockseer has the final word" edict, but as a first-year PhD student, I felt I needed her full support in my decision, and I didn't feel like I had it.

[Merijeek]

Maybe this is a silly question...

Living in the digital age, can't you just say, "I'm sure you have them on disc/hard drive/whatever". Go print them out and have them back to me in the next six hours.

Impossible to get all that work done that quickly, I imagine. Easy to reprint them all in that time, however.

-Joe, probably missing something

[Lockseer]

Yup.

The department head said "with proper documentation."

Did the student provide "proper documentation" for the family emergency?

I didn't wish to be put in the situation of asking the student to provide me with a copy of an obituary. Besides...I was certain he would come up with something.

I'm not denying I buckled...but my morale was shaken by the sudden about-face of the department chair.

[Lockseer]

Living in the digital age, can't you just say, "I'm sure you have them on disc/hard drive/whatever". Go print them out and have them back to me in the next six hours.

The assignments were out of a lab manual. You complete them, tear them out of the book, and hand them in. The night he e-mailed me about his standing in the class, I sent an e-mail out to all the students asking them to bring their lab manuals in the next day, mainly so I could look at his and see if they were even torn out...of course, he didn't bring his.

Two of the exercises, though, require work with a computer program. I told him Thursday morning to e-mail me, as attachments, his saved files for that. He e-mailed them to me around 4pm. He may have had them completed, or he may have just done them that afternoon...unfortunately, you can't check the "created" date/time through "Properties." :(

[Lynn Bodoni]

You'll find the longer you teach, the more detailed and complex your syllabus will become, as you seek to close every loophole the students can find! And they still won't read it, according to colleagues...and in my own experience with music students. Yeah, this applies to many work situations. For example, when the SDMB first moved to the web from AOL, Ed decided that we'd have one rule: "Don't be a jerk". As we've grown and had more experience, we've had to declare things like don't use sock puppets (especially not to agree with yourself), don't misquote people, don't use hate speech, don't call people trolls, etc. It's a royal pain, and most of these rules could be avoided if we could just count on people to USE SOME COMMON SENSE, DAMMIT!

[NurseCarmen]

Yeah, your department chair buckled too.

Itsa bummer when you find out that your boss has no spine. I lived that for the past three years.

[Chunky Bum]

Pressure from the dept. chair my ass.

The kid beat the system because YOU let him beat the system!

Jeez, if there ever was a kid who deserved a failing grade, this is it.

[mhendo]

You should have stuck to your guns and just told the student that it was too late to submit the earlier assignments. Handing things in late is one thing, but not handing them in at all and then claiming that they had, in fact, been handed in is pretty fucking low. We always make a point of telling the students never to slide anything under anyone's door.

I do think that your department head shafted you, especially after she made it very clear to you that she was well aware of the fact that your student was a slacker and a scammer. She should not have made any statement about what you might or might not do in her email to the student, and if she was going to make such a statement, she should have discussed it further with you. Under those circumstances, she effectively made you the bad guy and absolved herself of any need to stand behind you, and i think that sucks.

As a TA, i've had to fail students for plagiarism, for non-attendance, and for failing to submit work, and so far i've been lucky enough to have the full support of my professors. Last semester, i failed one student who turned up to fewer than half the sections, and who constantly submitted work late without an excuse. I also gave another student a D, which effectively meant an F, because the student was taking the class pass/fail, and at our university this requires a grade of C or above.

One student went to the Dean to try and get around the issue, and when the Dean asked the professor what the deal was, the professor asked me about it. I made it very clear that i was standing by the grade, and that i had documented all the student's absences and late work. The prof stood by me 100%, and the dean said, effectively, "OK, if that's the story, then an F seems appropriate."

Of course, there are times when i'm happy to defer to the professor's better judgment, especially where grades are concerned. I had one student who got a B+ for a course, but who wanted an A-. We sat down and went over all the work the student submitted and i explained why i had given a particular grade for each paper. Then i also explained how i had calculated the participation grade for the student. The student kept pressing for the grade to be raised, and i finally said,

"Look, i've explained how i arrived at the grade. I think i've been fair, and that if i change your grade it will be unfair to other students in the class. I am, however, a TA and not a tenured professor, and i'm fully willing to concede that, despite my best efforts to be fair, you might be right that i've been too hard on you. If you still feel that to be the case, you should take the issue to the professor and have him look at your work. I won't be offended if you do this, and if the professor changes your grade then i will accept that decision completely. But i'm not willing to change it myself."

She did, in fact take the work to the prof. He hasn't yet had a chance to look at it. If he bumps her to an A-, i won't be at all offended. It's funny because before this happened, when the prof and i were going over the final grades, he said, "The biggest complainers about grades are nearly always the students who get a B+, because they always feel they really derves an A- or an A."

[mhendo]

...always feel they really derves[ an A- or an A."That should, of course, read "deserve." :rolleyes:

[Podkayne]

I didn't wish to be put in the situation of asking the student to provide me with a copy of an obituary. Besides...I was certain he would come up with something.

I don't know about your institution, but where I teach, If a student has an injury, illness, or family emergency, they notify the dean's office, who (I assume) verify it somehow, and then send a letter to each of the student's instructors.

This is a very Good Thing, because if a student shows up with a sob story, I can recommend to them that, gee, if they need [extra time for an assignment, to make up an exam, etc.] for [i]my[/i\ class, surely they'll need these things in other classes, and you can conveniently notify all your professors with one stop to the dean's office, so why don't you run along and do that

You might want to check what your school's policy is on documenting exuses absences.


I'm not denying I buckled...but my morale was shaken by the sudden about-face of the department chair.

I wouldn't feel too guilty about it. You are probably not in a position where you can flunk a student if the higher-ups won't back you up. It's an annoying fact of academic life that the system at all levels caters to whiners. It undermines your authority, and, really, it forces you to be unfair to the other students in the class who worked hard for their grades. You really need a rock-solid case to flunk someone these days.

Are you absolutley sure you can't find somewhere to shave a few points to drop his grade below a 2.0?

[Hyperelastic]

The great thing about teaching college is that you have tremendous personal authority compared to almost any other profession. I often reflect on my time as a college instructor when I'm fighting the bureaucracy in my current job.

I had a kid who got a C on his first test and pulled the old "But I'm an honors student" crap. So? I gave him the option of taking it up with the department chair, dropping the class, or sucking it up. He dropped. I guess that's how some people maintain those sky-high GPA's: hunt around until you find a wussy teacher who will give you the grade you "deserve".

Then there was the guy who had completed all the requirements for his degree except for my class. Trouble was, he had already accepted a job in Chicago (500 miles away) and couldn't attend the lectures. We struck a deal by which he could pass the class (on a pass-fail, not letter grade basis) by simply passing the exams. He failed them miserably, then wanted me to pass him anyway. Didn't work.

[paperclip]

I guess I'm just naive or something, because I had no idea it was common for college students to try to pull this kind of thing. I was always under the assumption that if you had a problem with a class attendance policy or turning assignments in on time it was basically, "tough shit."

Last fall, the attendance policy for one of my classes stated that an unexcused absence resulted in the loss of ten points from your final grade. Excused absences were to be preapproved, and followed up with documentation upon return. no exceptions. Pretty clear, I thought. One of my classmates missed a day early on in the semester because he didn't feel like coming to class, or something stupid like that. He was also, the only person the entire semester to miss a class. When grades finally came out he appealed not only to the professor and department head, but everyone else in the class via the e-mail list saying something to the extent of, "I don't think I deserved a B- for missing a single day. The attendance policy is too strict." Our class bitched him out and the professor only had to respond, "everyone else knew the policy." What an ass.

[Otto]

1) You get four absences. Each absence beyond the first four eats into your "Attendance and Participation" grade. At the very onset of the semester, when he/she (okay, screw it, it's a he) missed the first six classes, saying he hadn't known the class had even started, I foolishly told him that due to the extenuating circumstances, I would start his attendance record from Day Seven. Ah. So you screwed yourself from the beginning. You set yourself up in the student's mind as a soft touch and he took full advantage. Proper response in future is of course "there's always next session."

[presidebt]

I understand why you did what you did, and I share in your outrage toward these kinds of students.

You are in a precarious situation. Academia is, as I'm sure you know, full of petty politics and who's to say something like this couldn't be used to prevent you from getting your Ph.D., thus ending your career as a professor forever? It's prudent to wait until you actually have the credential before you start justifiably addressing this type of student and their actions.

I'm a student (undergraduate) who actually cares and is geniunely interested in securing an education for myself, as opposed to a job. I see assholes like this everyday. They seem to make up a sizable portion of the student body, and their mollycoddling parents are the worst! It galls me to no end to see my hardwork minimized when profs cave to them, but I try to understand where some of them are coming from, often in situations like yours, or as adjunct faculty with less recourse than tenured profs. When I see a tenured faculty member behave this way, I make sure it is commented on in the faculty review we do at the end of each semester. My favorite professors are the harder ones, the ones who stick to their guns, even with me ( I recently got my first B and earned it). The appreciation seems reciprocated. One day I hope to be a professor myself, and when I finally have the power, I will wield it justly and fairly.

What it comes down to is this: Just because you pay tuition doesn't mean you automatically get a passing grade. But that seems to be the reasoning behind some of these kids (and sometimes their parents).

[Jonathan Chance]

So...one more student entering the world having learned they can buck the system and manipulate those in power. Who knew I was teaching such valuable life lessons? *Bashes head repeatedly against wall*

Lockseer-

Meaning no disrespect towards you personally...please understand that.

The above is a DAMN fine lesson to learn for most people. Especially in the business world those who push tend to be the ones who go farthest.

Whether they should or not is another matter, I agree. But you can't deny that people who know how to work a system have a leg up.

[Ms Boods]

I guess I'm just naive or something, because I had no idea it was common for college students to try to pull this kind of thing. I was always under the assumption that if you had a problem with a class attendance policy or turning assignments in on time it was basically, "tough shit."



You're not naive -- you are probably just like the majority of people (I hope it's the majority!) who simply wouldn't behave in this manner, so you are surprised when you learn that people do. Until I became a grader as an undergraduate, I had literally no idea that a few of my classmates pulled these sort of stunts, and was shocked. Heck, I was shocked at the sabotage a couple my fellow grad students pulled on us, and I'm sure it continues all the way up the ranks, alas.


I'm not denying I buckled...but my morale was shaken by the sudden about-face of the department chair.

What's awful, is that you feel bad, and you feel as if your chairman kicked a chair out from under you; I know that sinking feeling in the pit of the stomach, and one does go around feeling absolutely awful -- and you're not the one who did anything!

As to the question of why do we give in, or why would the chairman do the 180 -- I asked my partner, since he's been lecturing now for over 10 years, and he has dealt with this sort of rubbish before.

I do understand your frustration, Lockseer, because you're not a 'real' professor (and boy will some undergraduates run with that.) I mean absolutely no disrepect with that, because I, and I'm sure many people here, understand exactly how frustrating that is. You have all the burdens and workload of a lecturing professor, yet some students will still pull that 'Well, you're just the babyminder, you're not my real mum!' rubbish on you.

My partner, who has tenure, is fortunate in that his chairmen have NOT overruled him, but I have friends who are professors at other unis, and sometimes their chairmen will overrule them -- and even if they don't, the students will run to the dean, if they get no joy overrruling the professor by going to his department chair.

At my partner's school, students like yours have threatened him (he's had his tyres slashed), or, their favourite, they enlist the aid of mum and dad, and mum and dad will threaten to bring lawsuits. And here is where I think you will have people like your chair perhaps turn 180 -- it's bonkers. But it does happen; at least once a term, my partner will get a shout from an irate parent threatening to bring in lawyers for a failing grade, or some whomped up accusation of discrimination.

He says there have been some right trainwrecks of meetings between him, students, and parents, with him having all the docos necessary to demonstrate why the student failed, and the student will still insist that somehow it was the professor's fault (ranging everywhere from 'You didn't make sure I knew the material' to the time honoured favourite, 'You don't like me!'

Isn't there a Bizarro cartoon, or perhaps a Far Side, where the doctor is saying to the patient, 'I'm sorry, you're just plain stupid, and I'm afraid there is no cure.' My partner has been dying to say that to some of these nasty students for years...

[Lockseer]

Thanks to all who replied...both in supporting me and in reiterating that buckled.

I do want to say I was completely prepared to fail this student if he wasn't able to bring his grade up to a 70% with the nine lab assignments. I'd grade one, enter it into the Excel sheet I made to calculate grades, and watch his grade creep a little closer to a 70% (it started at, like, 59% without the lab exercises).

I probably should have just graded all nine and entered them, so I didn't have some vague idea of what he would need on the final few assignments to pass. Who knows...I may have subconsciously been an easier grader because of that. But I'm definitely not about to shave points off of the lab assignments just to see him fail. But he came SO damn close...70.33%. Geez.

Well, he may not have learned anything about academic honesty, but as I have many teaching semesters ahead of me, at least I have learned a lesson. A little more explicitness in the syllabus and following up with students who aren't turning in assignments. I've already had thank you notes from students who DO try, telling me that they've never had an instructor who was so helpful or easy to communicate with...I just need to make sure my wish to see them succeed is underscored by the desire to insist they earn it.

[ICyborg]

Dear lockseer, I'm the "partner" referred to by msboods; I usually say simply that I am her husband (we are actually married), but that is neither here nor there.

You buckled because you were ordered to in no uncertain terms. I've had to buckle at least once a year since becoming a prof on my own, as it were. No matter what you do, there is always a student willing to make waves big enough to be seen by administrators, and if there are two things college and university administrators hate above all else, they are unhappy parents and unhappy future alumni. Every time a parent gets upset enough to call a dean, a professor somewhere in the system is about to buckle. Every time a student gets upset enough to make waves, a professor somewhere in the system is about to buckle.

More and more, students are "earning" their degrees via methods other than doing well on their coursework. It doesn't matter how careful we profs are with our syllabi (there will always be a loophole), how carefully we avoid bias (I long ago worked out how to grade assignments without knowing who turned them in until I had completed grading every last paper), how bland we are in class (I've even been accused of hating college students in general!), how polite we are to every last student (every year I am accused of having a favorite or favorites), how careful we are (I've been accused of having affairs with students, or coming on to them), etc., etc., etc.; none of it matters. All that matters is keeping students and parents happy. This is because administrators are hired to produce a high number of graduated students, not to run the place! Most people outside, and even inside academia do not realize this, but, alas, 'tis true. So, any time there's a tussle between a student and a prof big enough to make waves, the administration would prefer that the student win, because that makes for a happy student who sticks around and graduates.

Lockseer, you had no choice, and neither have I each time I've "buckled." It just goes with the territory. I long ago had to come to terms with the fact that a certain percentage of students who graduate do so without actually deserving their degrees; the reason I stay in this business is because I believe that I can, by being the best prof I can be, minimize that percentage, and at the same time, maximize actual learning among my students.

[beergeek279]

Ahh great.............I become a TA for the very first time in about 5 weeks (just got the bachelors in May, and planning on fast-tracking to the PhD in Comp Sci), and THIS is what I get to look forward to??

I knew a few of the "my 6th grandmother died, so can I get an extension/incomplete on the project that was due 3 months ago?" types, so I can only imagine the fun it's going to be actually having to deal with their sob stories.

[Lockseer]

Ahh great.............I become a TA for the very first time in about 5 weeks (just got the bachelors in May, and planning on fast-tracking to the PhD in Comp Sci), and THIS is what I get to look forward to??

I knew a few of the "my 6th grandmother died, so can I get an extension/incomplete on the project that was due 3 months ago?" types, so I can only imagine the fun it's going to be actually having to deal with their sob stories.

Don't sweat it, beergeek279. You'll find most students aren't like that. Can't remember if I mentioned this in my OP, but teaching is still the part of my program that I enjoy most, and I'm not going to let this debacle ruin it. If anything, I'll be kicking myself in the ass if it happens again. I've found that when I show a genuine interest in my students' education, they appreciate, and don't try to fuck me over. This prize specimen got little to no attention from me, as he never showed up...my main fault was not checking in with him to remind him that he wasn't handing in assignments, as every little point counts.

So don't despair...if you do your job, you'll find that students do express their appreciation. I've received thank you notes and praise on student evals, and I won't say it didn't warm my heart's cockles.

[Anaptyxis]

And as a former TA of much experience, I'd like to add my own bit of advice to the discussion: never present yourself to the students as someone who is their friend, as someone who might ever cut anyone any slack, as someone who can be swayed by tears or threats, or as someone who can be made angry. I'd share some anecdotes but I'd rather not scare beergeek279.

I had students try all sorts of tactics to get me to treat them differently, and I always refused, but it is hard to say no to people sometimes. Often, all you need to do with the whiners/beggars/manipulators is show them a brick wall from the very start, and they will back down when they see you're not an easy mark. The first concession to a student's special request is like the snowball that becomes an avalanche - students will sense the chink in your armor and will not let up on the begging after that. If you come off as a hardass at the beginning, it will pay off later in the term as students learn not to bother testing your defenses. It's nervewracking but it does make you a more effective teacher. You are there as an authority on your subject, and it helps to project to the students that you want their respect, not for them to like you.

As to the syllabus, when we had a formalized independent study program, we had all students sign a paper that they had received all of the course materials and guidelines, so if anyone ever whined about not knowing about a policy or due date, we'd show them their own signature. Busted! :D

[Snooooopy]

Student X, as he/she will be known ...

... OBVIOUSLY had a good excuse -- he/she was helping his/her kid brother, Student Racer. Plus, it was Chim-Chim who made the mistake of slipping the assignments under the wrong door.

[Atticus Finch]

Sorry for the hijack, but there's a minor thing that confuses me. Lockseer, why are you referred to as "Professor Lockseer" by your colleagues, when you are still a student? Over here in Australia, a professor is a senior academic in a permanent position with at least a decade or two of experience, a decent salary, and many responsibilities. What does it mean over in the US?

[KarlGauss]

I hear you Lockseer.

Unfortunately, I've also had my (large) share of such students/stories. Over the years one thing has emerged, though - if your sense is that they're bullshitting you, they probably are.

In my experience, just as in your story, the students who come up with the cock and bull stories almost invariably have a history of doing exactly the same in another course(s) with other prof(s). Trust your intuition and have faith that what you're seeing, what "prevented" the student from completing his/her assignment, is not some unique, sad sequence of events but, rather, is just one more attempt at manipulation. Ask around. You'll be amazed (but reassured) to hear that "last year he told me he had proctitis and couldn't come to class" or "that's the guy who tried to have me believe he needed to take care of his sick aunt".

If possible, document things. Put it in his/her record. Next semester's prof will find it makes for interesting reading.

[Thudlow Boink]

You'll find the longer you teach, the more detailed and complex your syllabus will become, as you seek to close every loophole the students can find! And they still won't read it, according to colleagues
That's why I include a "The instructor will be permitted to shoot any student who..." clause somewhere in the middle.

[Lockseer]

Sorry for the hijack, but there's a minor thing that confuses me. Lockseer, why are you referred to as "Professor Lockseer" by your colleagues, when you are still a student? Over here in Australia, a professor is a senior academic in a permanent position with at least a decade or two of experience, a decent salary, and many responsibilities. What does it mean over in the US?

Honestly, that one confused me, too. I tell my students to call me by my first name, and when they initially write me via e-mail, to get an override into my class, for example, if they call me "Professor," I kindly let them know that I'm not a professor yet.

Seeing the head of the department call me "Professor" to a student confused me. She was copying me on an e-mail she sent to him...my guess is that he referred to me as "Professor," and she felt it wasn't proper to correct him, so she referred to me in kind.

[Lockseer]

If possible, document things. Put it in his/her record. Next semester's prof will find it makes for interesting reading.

I believe in this student's case, he graduated in May, but still had a summer class or two to take. Not 100% sure on this, though. Great thing is, I have a lot of connections in our field in Chicago, where many of our students end up. I'll be keeping my ears peeled.

Just to explain, as in many schools, if seniors will be graduating after taking summer courses, they are permitted to walk in graduation ceremonies at the end of Spring semester, with the bulk of students.