As I struggle to write an email to my "bad class", I'm thinking about the advice I give all my students regarding their writing: Be clear, concise, and consistent. If I were to follow that advice, I could simply send out the message in the title of this post; however, I feel the need to temper it -- at least a little. I don't really want to tell them what to do. If they choose to miss class, it isn't any of my business. They are presumed to be adults, capable of making their own choices. I do want to remind them that their choices have consequences, and in this short-term course, the consequences are potentially more serious. Because a single class session is equal to an entire week of full-term courses, students are allowed to miss one without penalty. After that, I deduct ten points from their final grade. (I'm using a one-hundred-fifty point scale, so that's a significant penalty.)
I'm not taking students' absences personally, but it is annoying when those who are chronically late or absent contact me to ask what they missed. My other concern is that many of these students will either fail the class or drop it partway through the semester, and that concern isn't entirely altruistic. Either (or both) of these situations could lead to my not being invited to return in upcoming semesters. Maybe I'm thinking too hard about all of this. I'll send a short "welcome-back-from-spring-break" note with assignment reminders and just a line or two dedicated to the attendance issue. It's up to them whether or not to heed my warning.
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