2008 Woodie Awards
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Professors don't need to teach time management
In My Opinion | Anything But Apathy
by Deborah Bloom | Columnist
I don't cut class because I'm a bad student. I do it because sometimes I need to slack off a bit in order to really thrive. Life is unpredictable. There are occasions when I just can't be there, and other times I simply don't want to be. Often there are other things I would rather be doing, like jetting off to the hot springs or sleeping in. Besides, you better believe that I have someone there taking notes for me.
The truth is, being a slave to your academic schedule just does not sit well with me. My time is my own to manage. While I can understand why you might feel the need to take attendance, I just don't see what purpose is served other than to learn our names. You might think that it motivates us to come to class and to participate, but why would you want us there if we don't want to be? Isn't the fact that we pay thousands of dollars each term enough of an incentive?
It would be easy to spew out the old adage "it's not you, it's me," but dear instructor, it's both. Occasionally, I'm feeling ill. Sometimes I'm just not in the mood to listen, and other times you fail to really capture my attention. Notice how the more engaging and interesting teachers don't even bother recording who shows up; they are secure with their abilities as instructors and do not feel the need to resort to force. Still, you continue to mark me off each time I'm physically absent while the boy who habitually sleeps in the third row gets full attendance points despite the fact that he is mentally absent. It just doesn't seem logical.
It isn't your responsibility to make sure that I show up to class religiously, it is to teach me something besides what I could learn in a supplementary textbook. It is to engage me and get me excited about what it is that I'm learning. You might feel it is up to you to prepare me for the demands of the real world in areas like responsibility and time-management, but it isn't. I came to college to learn about myself as an intellectual, not to understand the importance of punctuality.
A mandatory attendance policy does little to foster a stronger learning environment. It's counterproductive and undermines the integrity of the classroom. I don't want to be among students who are just there to get their names checked off. Those are the ones who consistently doodle anime all over their notebooks or proceed to text message anyone who will more successfully engage them. They are always the ones who end up shuffling around in the middle of class in order to leave while simultaneously making us all wish we were leaving too. At least if I'm not there I'm not distracting anyone.
Do not be surprised at my predisposition to defy authority. After all, I came here to learn how to think critically and independently both inside and outside of the classroom.
Treat me like an adult and hold me accountable for my actions. Struggling to catch up because I made the conscious decision to skip class is my own fault. Do not be bitter if I successfully grasp the material without the aid of your lectures. If I fail due to my own lack of effort, don't baby me with reassurances and extensions - it's my own fault. If I want to pay thousands of dollars a year to mess around and be irresponsible, then that is my own perogative.
dbloom@dailyemerald.com
The truth is, being a slave to your academic schedule just does not sit well with me. My time is my own to manage. While I can understand why you might feel the need to take attendance, I just don't see what purpose is served other than to learn our names. You might think that it motivates us to come to class and to participate, but why would you want us there if we don't want to be? Isn't the fact that we pay thousands of dollars each term enough of an incentive?
It would be easy to spew out the old adage "it's not you, it's me," but dear instructor, it's both. Occasionally, I'm feeling ill. Sometimes I'm just not in the mood to listen, and other times you fail to really capture my attention. Notice how the more engaging and interesting teachers don't even bother recording who shows up; they are secure with their abilities as instructors and do not feel the need to resort to force. Still, you continue to mark me off each time I'm physically absent while the boy who habitually sleeps in the third row gets full attendance points despite the fact that he is mentally absent. It just doesn't seem logical.
It isn't your responsibility to make sure that I show up to class religiously, it is to teach me something besides what I could learn in a supplementary textbook. It is to engage me and get me excited about what it is that I'm learning. You might feel it is up to you to prepare me for the demands of the real world in areas like responsibility and time-management, but it isn't. I came to college to learn about myself as an intellectual, not to understand the importance of punctuality.
A mandatory attendance policy does little to foster a stronger learning environment. It's counterproductive and undermines the integrity of the classroom. I don't want to be among students who are just there to get their names checked off. Those are the ones who consistently doodle anime all over their notebooks or proceed to text message anyone who will more successfully engage them. They are always the ones who end up shuffling around in the middle of class in order to leave while simultaneously making us all wish we were leaving too. At least if I'm not there I'm not distracting anyone.
Do not be surprised at my predisposition to defy authority. After all, I came here to learn how to think critically and independently both inside and outside of the classroom.
Treat me like an adult and hold me accountable for my actions. Struggling to catch up because I made the conscious decision to skip class is my own fault. Do not be bitter if I successfully grasp the material without the aid of your lectures. If I fail due to my own lack of effort, don't baby me with reassurances and extensions - it's my own fault. If I want to pay thousands of dollars a year to mess around and be irresponsible, then that is my own perogative.
dbloom@dailyemerald.com
Viewing Comments 1 - 10 of 12
Frank Wilkins
posted 4/23/08 @ 6:30 AM PST
Here we see the wisdom of youth fully exposed.
I could go through a line-by-line dissection of the error of her ways, but it will be much more fun to watch the collective wake up call these kids get once school is done and 5 decades of work begin. (Continued…)
T R
posted 4/23/08 @ 8:32 AM PST
Dear boss,
I am sometimes late for work because I wake up tired. Sometimes I'd rather watch a few more minutes of the Today Show that sit like a drone at my desk. (Continued…)
Edward
posted 4/23/08 @ 9:34 AM PST
Dear Deborah;
I don't take attendance for your sake, I do it for mine. When students I couldn't pick out of a line-up fail and their parents call me (at home, sometimes, though how they get my number is as yet a mystery) I need concrete evidence to explain why their spawn got an F. (Continued…)
The Meanest Professor Ever
posted 4/23/08 @ 10:21 AM PST
What a butthead.
Self-entitled snowflake idiot.
If you really want to be an adult, how about we give you an F for Fired?
Oh, and sweetie, don't go crying to your profs when you fail the course. (Continued…)
thaprof
posted 4/23/08 @ 10:44 AM PST
Hey Deb,
I'm down with ya, but....
I have heard this speech many times, yet somehow the ones orating in January tend to be the ones weeping about getting a fourth or fifth chance in May. (Continued…)
dr mike
posted 4/23/08 @ 11:11 AM PST
Can I cut class too? Oh wait, I'd lose my job! Other people are paying for me to be here. Guess what, other people, the tax payers, are paying for a good bit of the cost of your education. (Continued…)
Scooter
posted 4/23/08 @ 11:32 AM PST
I teach at Johns Hopkins University. I take attendance. I mark down lateness. I fail students for excessive unexcused absences, and here's why.
It's a course with about 12-15 students. (Continued…)
Dr. Meanie
posted 4/23/08 @ 9:00 PM PST
You think we like being "slaves" to our own academic schedules? You think we like coming to class every day? Please. Your teachers probably find you as dull as you find them. (Continued…)
Jon
posted 4/24/08 @ 12:21 AM PST
I absolutely agree. If I miss some classes, and then go in and ace the final, I should not be penalized. I understand attendance requirements when my being there affects other students (in class group work, etc. (Continued…)
Cindi
posted 4/24/08 @ 9:07 AM PST
So, if you think you can learn it all from a book, then why bother coming to college? I think you're slighting us, the rest of the people in the class a bit, by assuming that you can't learn anything from us. (Continued…)
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