Korean Job Discussion Forums

[livinginkorea]

[hogwonguy1979]

attendance is 10% of their grade at my school and if they miss more than 9 hours of class they automatically fail, this is the policy at most univs with attendance ranging from 10-20% of their grade.

i also use number of absences as a tie breaker when it comes to the grade curve if i have 2 students with the same grade and one slot left for the higher grade the one with the fewer absences gets the grade

[Mr. Peabody]

Taking attendance is mandatory at my uni and counts for 10% of their grade + part of their participation grade, which is another 10%.

If they miss 12 hours, they auto fail.

Having attendance records also shuts up the grade whiners at the end of the semester.

[naturegirl321]

[legrande]

Yeah, if you don't take attendance you're not setting much of an example, are you?

Then again, as a former co-teacher once said, "In the overall scheme of things, does it really matter?" So I suppose it depends on how seriously you take the job. In my view the instructor can potentially impact a student's life significantly, pro or con.

[zappadelta]

[christopherm]

Please forgive me for saying so, but taking attendance is an absolute requisite. At my university, missing more than 3 classes is sufficient grounds for failure. I don't call out the names of each student. Doing so reminds me of "Ferris Bueller's Day Off." I just give them a list of students to sign. If they want to cheat by signing their friends' names, then so be it. I will catch them later. lol The important thing to do is to cover yourself. No one else will take your side if a descrepancy or controversy surfaces. I have anywhere from 20 to 32 students in my classes. It is very simple to do a headcount. I often give homework and occasional quizzes. This will reveal who is coming to class and who isn't.

Anyway, the bottom line is that I recommend doing your paperwork and attendance.

[Tamada]

20% of students' grade is for attendance, behavior, attitude and participation. I take it every single class. It takes 1 minute, max!

As for sleeping, texting etc.......why on earth would you allow that??? I drill and grill my students from day 1, verbally and in writing on my powerpoint presentation. Sleeping, texting, having a poor attitude etc = minus points. Minus points= a lower grade. So, I don't have those kind of issues in my class.

[Tamada]

.....

[cdninkorea]

There are a lot of comments directed toward me in this thread, so forgive me if I neglect to address all of them:

First of all, several people said that not taking attendance tells the students they don't have to come. To this I say: yes! If they can self-study, do the homework on their own, and do well on the exam, why should I get in the way of their superlative motivation?
If they need the structure of a class, as most do, they'll come. Does this make me sound lazy? I don't think so; my professors never took attendance, yet they still wanted students to come to class. Are professors at universities in Canada, who almost never take attendance, lazy? Why would I be any different?

Second, while most classes do have mandatory attendance at my university, it's up to the instructor (if I didn't have the choice I wouldn't even be thinking about not taking attendance).

Third, about covering my ass and having justification for failing students: I would think that students who always come to class, does poorly on the exam, and fails the course would complain more than a student who never comes, does poorly on the exam, and fails the course.

Fourth and finally, the text messaging phenomenon is hard to battle, especially when so many students use their phones to look words up in the dictionary and I can't always tell the difference (I don't believe in making them buy separate dictionary-only devices, since, among other reasons, smartphones make such devices obsolete).

[legrande]

Hey, make no mistake about it, teaching uni has its unique challenges and should not be taken lightly. You're absolutely right when you say that some students will not be there in spirit when coerced to be there physically.

And therein lies the crux of the situation. They've beaten the almighty uni entrance exam, and they realize they've got a few precious years to fuss off a bit after studying everyday in high school for 10+ hours before they start working for 14+ hours in some soul-destroying job: how does one engage them in some meaningful manner with instruction that will leave them with some useful tools that they can use for the rest of their lives?

It is the litmus test of our occupation, and mightier souls than celebrity professor speakers at KOTESOL conferences have fallen prey to the lures of chicanery and good 'ol boy type networks.

In my experience you're better off sticking with the attendance. If you opt out, you may find that you start losing respect amongst the better students, and then one of your key constituencies is immediately compromised, leaving you to make a comeback stronger than the earthquake/tsunami combo that took down Japan. Learn to recognize that connecting with your more aloof students, or at least making the genuine sustained effort to do so, is the key to turning the tide and neutralizing their negative influences.

Even when you've made the right moves, there are always going to be those classes that just don't work out the way we'd like them to. A basketball player who makes half his shots commands enough salary to buy a building in Kangnam (okay, maybe Hapcheong), a baseball player who succeeds 3 and a half times out of 10 is going to the hall of fame. Keep digging, plugging away, don't take the easy routes that others may advertise with a grin, good things will begin to happen, just don't expect overnight returns. Uni jobs are arguably the best gig in ESL. We've got to step up.

[cdninkorea]

Good points, LeGrande: your post has given me some food for thought, so thank you.

[Carbon]

[Swampfox10mm]

We're required to flunk our students.

[Stan Rogers]