Job Discussion Forums

Gordon · Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Posts: 5309 Location: Japan

Find out what the rules are for your uni. If there aren't any, then you can't get into trouble for breaking them. Go by the book. If students are late, I mark it down and 3 lates= 1 absence. I let students know what I mark down and when their absences start to get near the fail mark, I warn them about it. My uni'd poilicy is that if students miss more than 1/3 of their classes it is an automatic fail. Every school is different though.

Do your job, take charge and don't worry about student evaluations. I'm a bit if a hard ass (if you can believe it), but I have found students respect me, even the troublemakers, actually especially them. You are not their friend, you are their teacher.

gaijinalways · Joined: 29 Nov 2005 Posts: 2279

Got you guys.

Glenski, all my classes are surveyed at all 4 unis I work at (for both full timers and part-timers). Actually, out of the 17 classes I have, the one mentioned is the only problem class.

Gordan, for the ideas mentioned there is no set rule per se at the unis I work at. THe only mandatory rule for some of my unis is the miss more than 1/3 of the classes is supposed to be a mandatory failing grade. As to grading tardies and absences for how late someone is, that is up to the teacher's discretion. I tend to personally look more at what students do when they come rather than time they have missed. Obviously though, if they have missed a lot of time, their participation would be minimal at best. I also look at how they keep up with assignments ( I ask students to contact me or another student as they are responsible for homework given even when they are absent) and how well they are completed.

At the unis I work at, the student surveys are probably the most disliked items we use as they are not really seen as being fair and objective. In their defense, they sometimes give real feedback, but the ways unis decide who to give more classes to and who to renew (in some cases), the surveys become more of a popularity contest and are a bane for part-timers who have less power and less control over their schedules.

Teababy · Joined: 19 Apr 2006 Posts: 514 Location: Wuhan

Nip this in the bud by making it very clear in your first class that students who show up and misbehave will lose marks for every offence. Tell them that the exam is worth 100% and that they can only help their chances by staying home if they don't want to do any work. Tell them they can skip every class in the semester with no penalty and that they can just show up for the final exam if so inclined.

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

Teababy,
No offense, but that is a silly way to handle classes. For one thing, universities have rules about how many classes students can miss before flunking a course. If you tell them to stay at home until the final exam, you have just told them to break such a rule.

Also, how can you deduct points for misbehaving if your exam is worth 100% of their grade?

Teababy · Joined: 19 Apr 2006 Posts: 514 Location: Wuhan

Universities DON'T have rules. Ok, in name, yes, but not in deed. The university doesn't give a damn who does what or goes where. Students pass anyway. They don't know or care what goes on in your classes. As long as you turn up and don't assault or rape the students and they don't complain about your classes, the admin doesn't care one iota.

As for the students, do you really think that, if given a free pass not to come to class, they're going to go and complain about it? I don't think so!

I noted that the exam is worth 100%. Their negative behaviour in class chips away at that grade, making it harder for them to pass. If they insisted on coming to every class and mucking up, they would eventually lose enough marks to fail the exam before they've even taken it. Therefore, it is better for them to give themselves a chance to pass by NOT turning up and trusting to fate that they'll be able to answer the questions, having 100 points to lose instead of 80 or 50 from being a no-gooder in class.

Eventually, only the people who want to learn show up, which is all the better for me.

Gordon · Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Posts: 5309 Location: Japan

I'm glad you don't teach my kids. What a lousy attitude for a teacher to have. Tell students you don't like to not come. I try to get students to improve. I have had many problem students over the years and many times they have become some of my best students. Often (not always) it is about motivation. Some students may be a lost casue, but most are not.

Sounds like Chinese unis are different from Japanese ones (and thanks goodness for that if your post is any indication).

Cdaniels · Posted: Tue Jul 04, 2006 2:39 am Post subject: Lost casues

mondrian · Posted: Tue Jul 04, 2006 2:57 am Post subject:

Teababy · Joined: 19 Apr 2006 Posts: 514 Location: Wuhan

gaijinalways · Joined: 29 Nov 2005 Posts: 2279

Hey Gordan and Teababy, you have different approaches, leave it at that.

I think a third approach may be needed, where maybe some students do need to be assigned to another 'group', but the touchy part is doing it and not running afoul of the uni admin personnel.

As I mentioned earlier, it's a real issue for many university teachers, not just those that teach ESL/EFL, as the good universities have a bi-polar situation; having to make money and provide quality education. The problem is that uni education in Japan, especially for languages, seems to be forsaking the quality for the money. So basically, stuff them in the classrooms, and if they can't learn, it's the teachers who are to blame Rolling Eyes

!