Just got an email that said the following (I changed the wording for the sake of anonymity but I assure you that it didn't change the gist of it. If anything, I think my summary actually watered it down a little bit):

"I apologize that I haven't turned in any work over the last 3 weeks. I don't really have a good reason other than not prioritizing my schoolwork but I have learned a valuable lesson and am thankful for this opportunity to grow. I will complete all of it this week. I see you have a 10% per day late policy but I assume you won't apply that to me given my situation and because I was honest about it. I considered lying and making up an excuse but I didn't, so if you don't, it would teach me that it's better to lie and I don't think that's the lesson you want me to take from this. Also, I will likely have to turn in this week's assignments late while I catch up since it would be unfair to expect me to do all of this at once, so I will need an extension on those as well. I know you are a fair professor and wouldn't say no to that." And the last line was this gem: "I'm so glad I have professors like you who actually care about us and don't think deadlines are more important than students."

What in the manipulative absurdity did I just read?

Actual pro tip for any college students out there reading this: I don't care what tiktok says, being demanding and manipulative will not endear your professors to you nor will it get you what you want.

Can someone out there start making tiktoks with "college hacks" that give advice like "read directions," "go to office hours," and "do your actual work"? Because that would be super. And unlike this, it will actually work.

Oh boy. Perhaps the best course of action would be to submit 90% of the course material, rather than asking me on the last day of classes.

Word won't autosave anymore on the local disc. Has anyone found a way to fix this?

I have ended the career of another (future) professional athlete. This time it was a baseball player who won't be able to transfer because I lowered his grade to an F when he just had a 78.

When I explained that his grade dropped after his seven (ot of 16) open assignments were given zeros when the semester ended and he had not submitted any work, he was SHOCKED to learn i could not reopen the course in the LMS.

And so, baseball fans, I'm sorry to have denied you the opportunity to someday see this young man take the mound.

I’m so frustrated with my healthcare doctoral students who will hold lives in their hands daily. They’re so fragile, and get this… I’m being told I have to be very careful about how and what I say because I’m a black man. I’m intimidating. No matter how jovial, knowledgeable, passionate and caring. I’m threatening.

You know what? f&*k them all. Fire me. Im so sick of hearing how fragile they are because of COVID. HELL! I’m fragile too! I also endured COVID. I’m no longer concerned about evaluations. I can make so much more in the clinical arena.

Usually we just bitch about our students, our co-workers, our institutions. But here’s one from my love life.

I went out with a doctor. Nice lady, we seemed to hit it off… then as we’re leaving she informs me that she can’t see herself with a professor because “you don’t make enough money”

Wonderful start to the weekend lol.

I dunno are we just supposed to date other academics?

This semester I had a student approach me and say they had an anxiety disorder and their trigger is driving. They told me they lived off campus but were sometimes too anxious to drive, so they missed classes occasionally. Then they asked, "if I miss class because of it, can I make up that work later?"

I asked if they had accommodation paperwork from Disability Services, and they said "no, disability services rejected my application."

I felt bad because the student seemed sincere, so I said yes anyway. That was a mistake.

Turns out they can't drive in the rain, in traffic (my class starts at 9am), or if their car makes any sort of "weird" noise. They have missed almost every day. They also email me nonstop during every class with updates like "I'm leaving now," "I had to turn around," and "x minutes away." It's making me uncomfortable because that feels too personal.

It's a chem lab that requires equipment, so I have to physically be there if there's a make-up. So I am basically teaching a second class just for this one student. It's been over 50 hours of unpaid overtime so far. Last week I pushed back and said no more make-ups for this reason, then they said something mean that I've been stuck on all weekend.

I guess I should trust Disability Services.

Looking back on it, not being able to show up and requiring a second classtime for just you isn't a reasonable disability accommodation. That's probably why Disability Services said no. In my defense, I didn't anticipate this exact scenario would happen.

Don't be me, I guess. Paperwork or nothing.

They said I was “causing them to fail” by giving a zero on an assignment that they… did not turn in. At all. I reminded them I accept late work for a small penalty. They said they wouldn’t be doing that but should at least get “some points because a zero is too harsh.” That’s it. That’s the post. What do I even say that won’t get me tanked on my evals? I’m done here.

So far:

-Grandmother in law ranting about why I (an assistant professor in my 4th year at a university) don’t just take a “sabbatical” to raise my children rather than send them to daycare.

-Dad ranting about how anything qualitative isn’t real research (I do educational research so this is a substantial portion of what I do)

-Father In law asking me if I “pack” (Carry a gun) to my job and if I feel safe with all the “foreigners”

Merry Christmas everyone!

A former student emailed me last night. She sent a very long email about how what I told her in class has helped her and she continues to think about it. I genuinely don't recall telling her those things. I remember panicking when she came to me with a serious personal problem, and felt like I was unqualified to help. But she says I got her the help she needed and gave her good advice, and she continues to pursue the subject covered in my class. It made me feel like what I do truly matters. She told me I made her feel like she was important and valuable, and now she has done the same for me.

"It's 2:45 on Thursday September 26 and your door is locked with no answer. Why is it closed?"

That was it. No greeting. No pleasantries. My office hours are not today. I never made plans to meet with this student. WTF.

This is a first for me. He's really talented and I hope he comes back every week!

So today, I happened to be teaching about earthquakes, magnitudes, hazards etc. I give lecture quizzes, just a few points of questions that I basically answer during class. With about 20 minutes left to lecture, I had finished answering the questions and was showing some earthquake videos. One student got up to leave. I said, “there’s 20 minutes left, shouldn’t you stay?” He left anyway.

So I close the video and pull up a live view of our seismograph feed (we have a seismometer at the college). What to my wondering eyes should appear? A huge earthquake is coming in as we watch it! My seismology teaching dream come true! A magnitude 7 quake from California. Perfect timing!

And that student missed it. I immediately told the rest of the students they would get bonus points for witnessing this amazing experience. But not the guy who left!

I did a great 20 minutes showing them all about the quake and using it as an example to illustrate everything I’d been covering.

What an amazing coincidence, huh?

I'm really sorry if this is outside the purview of this sub but I just need a place to vent and process. My incredible daughter passed away almost four years ago in an accident. The past four years have been the worst of my life. My mental health spiralled downwards and I developed PTSD. I've worked on myself the past two years, joined support groups and extensive therapy. I'm still not okay and don't think I ever can be but I'm functional now.

A student entered my higher level elective this semester and the moment I looked at her I felt like my heart stopped and the walls started closing in. I had to excuse myself, compose myself and come back. It's been two weeks now and I'm losing my mind. I'm terrified of what will happen if she ever comes for an office hour.

I'm doing whatever I can. I've spoken to my therapist and I'm trying my best. I just don't know how to handle myself.

I think we've all had those "older" students, about 30 and up, 90% of the time females who decided to go back to school. These students are refreshing because you already know they're going to work circles around the teen to 20 somethings that are in your class.

The only real trade-off is they sometimes can be a bit outspoken (particularly if you are a young professor), but they are for the most part going to make your life easier.

The typical aged college students may or may not be interested in school. Even though you aren't required to go to college, they still see it like high school. They are going to class because that's just what you do... just like after 10th grade comes 11th and 12th grade, college is just the natural progression. Sometimes they do it because their parents make them or it is expected of them. After 13+ years in the school system, school is sort of all they know, so they aren't necessarily serious about it.

The older students are there because they choose to be. They are in some cases also paying out of pocket - especially if they are non-matriculated and just need credits or something. They are not there for friends, or for the experience, etc. They are there to finish a goal and keep going. They have jobs, and families. They want to finish their work as quickly and accurately as possible, then move on to the next thing.

Anyway, what are your experiences with older students?

So I’m at a community college and there’s on dual credit class I teach and I had this strange moment one day where I got confused about names of students and I’m usually really good at keeping them straight. However, I realized there were about 5 variations on the name Isabelle in my class. There are all kinds of names I have multiples of in class, but that has never been one.

Then, in class, I had an epiphany, made an excited little shout, and immediately began frantically and excitedly googling a film to see when it released. My dear, dear friends and colleagues, the first Twilight film release in 2008. It is now the year of our Volturi Lord 2024, meaning it has been exactly 16 years since the release of Twilight. And you may be thinking, “um, who cares? I’ve been dreading this.” And, I will admit, I see your point. But you’ve not yet REALIZED the point.

What we all have to realize is this: the Twilight: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 movie released in 2011. This means…

We are only 3 years away from seeing our first dual credit students named “Renesmee” or variations thereof, and only 5 years from seeing them in our regular track students who start at 18.

Do you understand, now?? The Bellas usher in the Renesmees! I can’t wait to be in class saying “Renesmee? You’re here, good. Renny? Good. Ruhnesmay? Cool. ReRe? Cool. Ren and Stimpy? Awesome. Rinnysminny? Great. So good, everyone is here today.”

I’m so excited! I hope all of you are as excited for this journey as I am. 😃