Wednesday, May 2
Wednesday, May 02, 2007 | 
Posted by
Anonymous
It seems like my school is teeming with student-athletes and just about anything is considered a sport in this joint. I've become accustomed to notification from the athletics department about who's going to be absent and requests to be as accomodating as I can, and I've heard from students that I'm more sympathetic to the plights of student athletes than most.
That was then, and this is now.
A couple weeks back that all went to crap when one of my student-athletes lied to me about missing class for a badminton tournament. He asked to make up the in-class assignment, and I told him I'd check with the athletics office because I hadn't heard about the badminton tournament. Well, when I checked, the coordinator told me that there weren't any excused absences for the badminton team that day. I emailed the student her reply, and suggested he have his coach talk to me if there was some sort of error. I heard nothing, until today.
Today, when he emailed me about his grade that's stuck somewhere between a B+ and an A-. Today, when he who lied to me and I probably could have pursued it as academic dihonesty, told me that it wasn't fair because I hadn't offered enough opportunities for him to make up the work he missed (I dropped the three scores, but he wanted more). Today, when he played the poor-pitiful-student-athlete card. Today, when the semester is already over and all that remains is his final exam.
I am afraid that my view of student athletes is eternally tarnished - all because of the one bad-minton player.
That was then, and this is now.
A couple weeks back that all went to crap when one of my student-athletes lied to me about missing class for a badminton tournament. He asked to make up the in-class assignment, and I told him I'd check with the athletics office because I hadn't heard about the badminton tournament. Well, when I checked, the coordinator told me that there weren't any excused absences for the badminton team that day. I emailed the student her reply, and suggested he have his coach talk to me if there was some sort of error. I heard nothing, until today.
Today, when he emailed me about his grade that's stuck somewhere between a B+ and an A-. Today, when he who lied to me and I probably could have pursued it as academic dihonesty, told me that it wasn't fair because I hadn't offered enough opportunities for him to make up the work he missed (I dropped the three scores, but he wanted more). Today, when he played the poor-pitiful-student-athlete card. Today, when the semester is already over and all that remains is his final exam.
I am afraid that my view of student athletes is eternally tarnished - all because of the one bad-minton player.
14 comments:
If he does good work who cares, you sound petty
Anonymous, are you for real, or a troll? Getting annoyed by someone who 1) lies and 2) whines about his grade only when it's not convenient for him is not petty.
It's gotten so it's hard for me to believe students at all with their excuses. Somehow simultaneously, though, I've become more lenient than I ever could have imagined I'd be, especially considering how totally uptight *I* was about never missing classes, and how I even got mad at my own roommates for not going to class. Giving people extra absences is unfair to the students who go to class diligently , but sometimes it's also so much easier than fighting about it, ugh. I'm also annoyed with the idea that turning in assignments is all that's required. If that's the case, why aren't we all just doing correspondence courses? Students absolutely do learn more when they're in class than when they just do the assignments but don't go to class.
Thanks, Poppy. You're right that this is not a correspondence course and part of doing one's part as a student is coming to class and participating in the discussions.
As far as your comment goes, Anon, I don't appreciate being lied to by students, or being accused of being unfair by them. I am more than accomodating and give them plenty of opportunities to do well. I think that for them to suggest otherwise either directly or by asking for even more favors is disrespectful. If that's petty, then you're right, I'm petty.
sorry, I just said it sounded petty not that you were petty. Anyways, just give them something really hard to do for extra credit, they usually run away. Thats what I do anyways. Going to class is not important, quality of work is important, thats my point.
Nearly all my posts on here will be petty, because they're my secrets. Some aren't appropriate to share with others, but a lot just aren't worthy.
I guess that I think the going to class and participating is part of doing good work, but that's related to course and area.
What a load of crap, I tried to leave a comment this afternoon and you wouldn't believe how much grief I got from Blogger.
Anyway, I think my comment was something along the lines of not thinking that it's petty to be annoyed when you're lied to. It's especially annoying when the said liar has such a sense of entitlement that he actually has the audacity to whine about his grade. I hope you let him know that you knew he was lying.
I thought my credulity was being stretched when a student told me that he would be absent for an ultimate frisbee regional tournament. REGIONAL, you see. But badminton. I'm afraid I'm not yet mature enough to not have laughed at that particular excuse. This is not to cast aspersions on the sport of badminton per se, but in the name of all that is holy, there are limits to the suspension of disbelief and tolerance of student excuses.
Oh, badminton was a psuedonym for the sport he really played. :) My school has not yet stooped to counting badminton as a competitive sport... ultimate, on the other hand...
I don't think badminton is any less of a sport than some 'academic' topics are 'academic.'
Um, I might be going crazy, but it seems totally obvious that the original anonymous poster (also author of fourth post) is a student. His or her logical reasoning, grammar (esp. the comma splices), and text-messaging punctuation scream STUDENT to me. If my hunch is wrong, then it depresses me that someone like that is working in an academic setting. "Going to class is not important." ???
Fraud, you are totally justified for feeling frustrated with this student. He betrayed your trust, broke an academic code of conduct, and now feels entitled to a good grade. Unfortunately, I don't think your story is the exception. Given what I hear from colleagues and my own experiences, it seems more like an epidemic...
Something similar happened to me this semester with a student "athlete", a.k.a. golfer. The frakker actually tried to physically intimidate me. For his effort, I was advised to report his arse to the dean. Since this was the SECOND time he did so.
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