I would have told them they had to decide whether they were taking the course or taking a vacation
Dead on. I sometimes wonder if there are students who think that colleges create summer courses merely as items of convenience for students who want to knock out a few credits in the hours they're not working on their tans or their summer jobs. I've had conversations with students (high school in my case) who were asking for exemptions from homework or extra time to study for tests because of extracurricular activities. I don't make allowances for them -- if they want to take part in sports, student government, or the drama club, then they need to learn the required time management skills in the process.
The administration did not ask the instructor to explain the situation that gave rise to the 2 evaluations.
That is bullshit, plain and simple. That, coupled with them ignoring the overwhelmingly positive evaluations from the other students and not giving the instructor an opportunity to present his side of the story makes it pretty clear the administrators were only interested in getting a specific number (the evaluation average) on paper.
Also, am I right in reading that there are only 5 students in the class? Whoa. Someone should beat the administrators over the head with the sample size bat.
Students in math--and in particular, students taking math at the level of an introductory course like this one--generally hate the subject before they even step into the classroom, and that hatred transfers to the instructor before THEY even step into the classroom
Yes, and many students are coming from high school experiences where they may have received excellent grades in math despite doing little challenging work, whether because they had lackadaisical teachers or they happened to be the brightest kids in a below average class. There are people who, when they find themselves suddenly receiving lower grades, will look not towards themselves and their work habits, but put the blame on external sources.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2009-08-30 07:27 pm (UTC)Dead on. I sometimes wonder if there are students who think that colleges create summer courses merely as items of convenience for students who want to knock out a few credits in the hours they're not working on their tans or their summer jobs. I've had conversations with students (high school in my case) who were asking for exemptions from homework or extra time to study for tests because of extracurricular activities. I don't make allowances for them -- if they want to take part in sports, student government, or the drama club, then they need to learn the required time management skills in the process.
The administration did not ask the instructor to explain the situation that gave rise to the 2 evaluations.
That is bullshit, plain and simple. That, coupled with them ignoring the overwhelmingly positive evaluations from the other students and not giving the instructor an opportunity to present his side of the story makes it pretty clear the administrators were only interested in getting a specific number (the evaluation average) on paper.
Also, am I right in reading that there are only 5 students in the class? Whoa. Someone should beat the administrators over the head with the sample size bat.
Students in math--and in particular, students taking math at the level of an introductory course like this one--generally hate the subject before they even step into the classroom, and that hatred transfers to the instructor before THEY even step into the classroom
Yes, and many students are coming from high school experiences where they may have received excellent grades in math despite doing little challenging work, whether because they had lackadaisical teachers or they happened to be the brightest kids in a below average class. There are people who, when they find themselves suddenly receiving lower grades, will look not towards themselves and their work habits, but put the blame on external sources.