"Is That Okay?"
Students often come up to me and explain how they have to miss class, or leave early, in order to do such-and-such. It might be to pick up a child or elderly person, to get a car fixed, to do something for work, to hang out at the mall, whatever. But regardless of the excuse or reason, the explanation always ends with, "So is that okay?"
Now, my absence policy is fairly clear. I don't assess an automatic absence penalty (BCCC recommends against them), but, I tell them, you miss what you miss. You're still expected to learn it, and it's up to you to do so. If you miss something graded, you can only make it up if you were absent due to an emergency.
I used to answer this question, "Yeah, okay." To me, that meant, "Of course you should be in class, but I won't think you're a horrible person if you go do this other thing that you have presented as though you don't really have a choice anyway."
That approach led to a lot of absences, and a perhaps-understandable confusion from the students about why they weren't allowed to make up the quiz, and why they were still expected to know what I had taught, when I had, after all, said it was "okay" for them not to come to class.
I experimented for a while with saying, "Well, no, not really." The experiment didn't last long. The student I tried it on went to his parents and told them I had forbidden him to go on his family vacation. They called the Dean of Students. I'm not sure exactly what they said, but the sticking point was that I had taken a sick day that semester, announcing it the day before, in order to do some charity work that I had committed to before I knew my schedule. (We get one paid sick day a semester, and using it only for actual sickness was not rigorously enforced.) The parents thought it was a 'double standard' that I was allowed to miss a day, but their pwecious boy couldn't go on vacation.
Lost in the wind was my explanation that it was, of course, up to him to decide whether he was going to miss an entire week of an 8-week course to go on vacation; I was just telling him I didn't think it was a good idea, and that if we had a quiz, he wasn't going to be able to make it up. For some reason, the end result of this affair was that teachers at BCCC are no longer allowed to announce in advance that they plan to use a sick day, since this student (and, more importantly, his mother) thought it was unfair that he couldn't announce in advance that he'd be absent and have that be "okay". And the Dean of Students agreed with him. Yes, ProfessorDog ruined it for everyone. That's one reason why this blog is anonymous; my colleagues will lynch me if they find out that was my fault.
Since both "yes" and "no" have proven to be unacceptable answers to the "is that okay?" question, I'm seeking a new one. Sighing heavilly before saying, "Yeah, I guess," and adding, "but be sure you do the reading," seems to work a little better than a straight "yes." If the proposed absence is long, or will entail missing something graded or unusually crucial, I say, "Well, if you're sure it's a good idea to miss (whatever they'll miss), it's your decision," is better, but requires me to actually check what they're going to miss, and students still seem to get the impression that their absence will be completely without consequences.
Last week I had a student come to the last class and tell me that he had to pick up his nephew, so "was it okay" if he left early? I gave the new answer: "We're going to be reviewing for the final exam. If you think it's a good idea to miss that, it's up to you." Now, I admit, I didn't remind him that giving out the essay question was part of reviewing for the final exam. He stuck around for about ten minutes, then left. That evening? Email in my mailbox, asking for the question. My answer? "Well, no. You chose to leave before I gave it out." Who knows what will happen when this one's mother complains.
How do other people answer "Is that okay?"
Now, my absence policy is fairly clear. I don't assess an automatic absence penalty (BCCC recommends against them), but, I tell them, you miss what you miss. You're still expected to learn it, and it's up to you to do so. If you miss something graded, you can only make it up if you were absent due to an emergency.
I used to answer this question, "Yeah, okay." To me, that meant, "Of course you should be in class, but I won't think you're a horrible person if you go do this other thing that you have presented as though you don't really have a choice anyway."
That approach led to a lot of absences, and a perhaps-understandable confusion from the students about why they weren't allowed to make up the quiz, and why they were still expected to know what I had taught, when I had, after all, said it was "okay" for them not to come to class.
I experimented for a while with saying, "Well, no, not really." The experiment didn't last long. The student I tried it on went to his parents and told them I had forbidden him to go on his family vacation. They called the Dean of Students. I'm not sure exactly what they said, but the sticking point was that I had taken a sick day that semester, announcing it the day before, in order to do some charity work that I had committed to before I knew my schedule. (We get one paid sick day a semester, and using it only for actual sickness was not rigorously enforced.) The parents thought it was a 'double standard' that I was allowed to miss a day, but their pwecious boy couldn't go on vacation.
Lost in the wind was my explanation that it was, of course, up to him to decide whether he was going to miss an entire week of an 8-week course to go on vacation; I was just telling him I didn't think it was a good idea, and that if we had a quiz, he wasn't going to be able to make it up. For some reason, the end result of this affair was that teachers at BCCC are no longer allowed to announce in advance that they plan to use a sick day, since this student (and, more importantly, his mother) thought it was unfair that he couldn't announce in advance that he'd be absent and have that be "okay". And the Dean of Students agreed with him. Yes, ProfessorDog ruined it for everyone. That's one reason why this blog is anonymous; my colleagues will lynch me if they find out that was my fault.
Since both "yes" and "no" have proven to be unacceptable answers to the "is that okay?" question, I'm seeking a new one. Sighing heavilly before saying, "Yeah, I guess," and adding, "but be sure you do the reading," seems to work a little better than a straight "yes." If the proposed absence is long, or will entail missing something graded or unusually crucial, I say, "Well, if you're sure it's a good idea to miss (whatever they'll miss), it's your decision," is better, but requires me to actually check what they're going to miss, and students still seem to get the impression that their absence will be completely without consequences.
Last week I had a student come to the last class and tell me that he had to pick up his nephew, so "was it okay" if he left early? I gave the new answer: "We're going to be reviewing for the final exam. If you think it's a good idea to miss that, it's up to you." Now, I admit, I didn't remind him that giving out the essay question was part of reviewing for the final exam. He stuck around for about ten minutes, then left. That evening? Email in my mailbox, asking for the question. My answer? "Well, no. You chose to leave before I gave it out." Who knows what will happen when this one's mother complains.
How do other people answer "Is that okay?"
posted by ProfessorDog at 12:23 AM
5 Comments:
How about a short written statement that you give to the student when he/she asks that states your policy about not being able to make up work missed due to an absence. Then you have a signature to show the parents/Dean whenever it becomes an issue.
Ask a question: "How do you plan to learn what you will miss?"
I'm a BIG proponent of putting it back on the student -- My high school kids are convinced that they are really adults -- well, okay then.
(This doesn't mean that I won't help if/when they come up with a viable idea.)
Thanks to a tip from Mr. J., I don't have an attendance policy and I "drop" their 3 lowest quiz grades. What will typically happen is a student will tell me they're going to miss a quiz and say, "How can I make it up?" while in my syllabus it reads, "NO MAKEUP QUIZZES." I just smile and say, "That will be one of the three we'll drop, then." If they happen to say, "Well, I already missed three classes," I will say, "Wow. That's too bad. I hope you do really well on all the remaining quizzes, then." I don't think that answers your question, but it's how I deal with this stuff. So annoying.
I usually say something like, "thanks for letting me know, and make sure you have a plan to get what you miss that day." I have a little blurb in my syllabus about this as well -- I really try to force them to turn to each other for this info instead of me. I also specifically say in a specific handout that professor email response is completely optional, and that email is something like 4th on the list of ways to get information.
I get sick of this too, but I don't think it gets better with smarter students or anything. All students are flaky, and the easiest way to get their shit covered is to go straight to the horse's mouth. Another line that I really like is "a lack of organization on your part does not constitute a crisis on my part."
"Is it okay"
What does that mean?
"Well, will i be in trouble?"
I'm not sure what you're asking? Obviously there will be consequences.
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