While I know that I am not that far removed from today's generation of college students, I feel a world away. It just doesn't seem so long ago that I was sitting in the same chair of my students, in the same class that I am teaching...and yet, it seems so long ago.
There seems to be a lack of common sense, respect, self-pride, drive and most importantly self-worth.
Example 1 - I recently required my class to create a paper and a presentation on a particular injury that I designated to each of them. One student created a great presentation and seemed very knowledgeable and I was almost looking forward to reading the associated paper. Stupid Jenny. The grade crumbled due to a combination of atrocious grammar, spelling errors, and a lack of any knowledge of proper sentence structure. Mind you, this isn't the first time I have encountered the same repulsive issues with this student. I don't know why I thought this time would be any different.
With my mind telling me one thing - and my heart telling me another, I returned the paper with some additional requirements: Obtain help from the ever-so-popular writing center and re-do and resubmit in one week. Looking back, I wish I would have submitted a post at that point in time - here I sit, after reading the "redone" paper and I am still shaking my head. How in the world is this remotely an improvement?
With some help (and much humor) from my sidekicks and colleagues, I devised a plan. I would sit and go over each sentence and each paragraph with the student and try to make some sense of it. 45 minutes (for a 1.5page paper) and about 15 Kleenexes later (for the student, not for me) we finished. At the end of the harshest session (that I have had to date of being in a "professor" role) the plan magically came into action, although no where how I had planned. Here are the options I gave:
- Take an incomplete for the semester and redo the work to my (and society's) standards
- Redo the assignment with all new references (and a new topic - harsh, I know), obtain help from the writing center, and resubmit to me in a week and a half
- Do nothing and accept the 52% on the assignment
The easy thing to do would be to give some points and move on my merry way. But isn't my job to put in effort to improve the problem at hand? As an athletic trainer and a professor...
Example 2 - Sometimes students just don't "get it". We talk a lot in our athletic training program about the "get it factor". Athletic training is a unique profession that combines education, personality, and most importantly (although sometimes forgotten), common sense. The common sense factor is AMAZING - you'd be surprised. When we have students interested in our program and they just "don't get it", it's like pulling teeth to try to get them to not want to be a part of our major. And I know all about getting teeth pulled and replaced, not fun.
Had a 45 minute conversation with a student and a few others about why they should not be a part of our program. I find it truly amazing that character flaws such as lying, disrespect and laziness are thought of as desired attributes. It should part of our program requirements, I need to make a note to amend that section.
Perhaps this is merely a reflection on the type of person I am and the type of people I choose to surround myself with... I don't like to boast about myself at all, so I am not going to now. I blame these students, their families, and society. Oh yes, and technology. Stupid Facebook and texting - the demise of any student's ability to write. I think it would be against some type of Act to post some of the work on this site, although I am itching to do so. It's incredible. What's happening with state sanctioned funds for education?
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