Job Discussion Forums

[Malsol]

[vikdk]

no nono no nawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww - English isn't meant to be fun.

seriously - best post I've read in ages - now that is what I call teaching

[dajiang]

Very 'dead poets society'.

good idea to try for anyone who's got the facilities.

Dajiang

[Malsol]

[7969]

we've got a small lake on our campus. i take my classes out there for the second half of our 100 minutes together. they relax more and the atmosphere is better plus sitting in a circle everyone can see one another without having to struggle to listen to someone who's back is to you and 10 rows in front of you.

noone's told me that i cant do it, and none of the chinese teachers ever do it.... so i will just keep on doing what i do.

[Roger]

Our university handed out notices that said in no uncertain terms that students must attend every single class, full stop; excuses? For what? Absences? Nada! Not allowed.

But even our university cannot organise hundreds of classes (we have over 10'000 students) without major hiccups and conflicts; so some students do get "excused", but you know this FT found out that there is an office on every campus (we have several campuses) that approves student absences; so this FT's students, in order to be approved to be absent must present a written excuse signed and stamped by that office, and the students meekly and good-naturedly cooperate with this FT.

Even so, some students manage to get approval for "driving lessons during your English class" or "job fair held at ... Plaza" etc. It is amazing how honest our students are in giving you the most unacceptable "reasons" for being absent from class...

Anyway, I am not a cop and don't mind their absences so long as they keep abreast of what's going on in class.

And therein lies the rub: not coming to class is an automatic obligation on the part of students to check with peers what sort of homework or prep work would be in their own interest...

Enuff said! If I wanted to feel frustrated I could go on and on, but as a matter of fact, I have probably the lowest absence rate, and my students are, grosso modo, the most hard-working. Result: the lowest level of frustration for myself. And for themselves.

But for many among them the learning curve is steep! They are like teenies whose voices are about to break and facial hair to sprout; yet they are "adult" and cohabit, take part-time jobs, own mobile phones and their parents (as chauffeurs, chefs, tour guides and financiers).
They want easy credits? Yes, they can get them - but they must still put in a little effort.

I have never had to cancel a class because students were AWOL.

[gengrant]

[brsmith15]

What I do is make attendance 10% of their grade. The course carries a total of 1,000 points (tests, exams and attendance). I compute their attendance grade, n, as follows:

n = 100 - 2(n^2) + 2n

If they have one unexcused absence,

n = 100 - 2(1^2) + 2(1) = 100 - 2 + 2 = 100,

so they still get full credit.

If they get to four, though, it's

n = 100 - 2(16) + 2(4) = 76

[Malsol]

[lou_c]

[Malsol]

[jeffinflorida]

Ok this story had a happy and funny ending!

[tofuman]

Well done Malsol. I also got what I was owed from a school after contacting the Provincial FAO twice. The loss of face for a school when that happens is enormous. Neither did I return to the school in question.

[Malsol]

[mondrian]