This week has done quite a bit to remind me that way too many 18-year-olds are a bunch of whiny babies. By the time I got home from teaching my classes this morning, I had pretty much had it with my students. I almost told my second section to go home after about 20 minutes of class, but then I decided that would be like a reward to them so I didn't. If I have to suffer in their company, they have to suffer in mine!I'm sure I'm making more of this than the situation merits, but it's been a long week all around, and having to be in a room of students, many of which seem to have absolutely nothing invested in their education, was the final straw. I have two students who have not come for about five weeks (out of six) and suddenly showed up and seemed surprised that they had an F already for the semester. Apparently some students think that never going to class and not handing in a single assignment is worth a passing grade. The students who do come, particularly in my second section, have seemed this week to be in a glassy-eyed stupor. And I've had a couple of students email me sob stories about how they really are good writers but they can only write if they feel passionately about the topic. So in one guy's case, unless I spend the next 9 weeks (are there really 9 left??) assigning essays about metal (music) then I guess he won't be able to write.
The weird thing, and I've run into this before, is that in some of the students' cases I feel like I care more about their grade than they do. Yet I still let it bug me! I have to keep reminding myself that I already went to college and did just fine, and if they want to fail that's their boat to float. Perhaps they think I won't have the guts to fail them, but what they don't realize is that it isn't about guts. They will all get the grade they deserve, even the guy who was mad he got a B for writing a B-quality paper. His sob story was about how he wants to transfer to Cornell and therefore needs to get higher grades. I told him that I'd be happy to give him a higher grade if he earned it. He seemed affronted by that. Whatever. I know I sound bitter, because I am, but I think not doing anything with my teaching for at least the rest of the day will work wonders for my psyche. Most of the time I quite enjoy teaching, but this just hasn't been my week.
