In my excitement to be back in the classroom, I had forgotten about the end-of-semester unpleasantness. With a week left in the semester, students who have missed a fourth or more of our class sessions are asking me what they can do to pass the class. My answer is the same as it's been throughout my years of teaching: Take it again next semester. (Implied in my tone is, "with someone else.") I stopped taking the lack of attendance or completion of assignments personally a long time ago. While I want to see my students succeed, I don't think I'm doing them any favors if I waive the rules I established (and related to them in a variety of modes) at the beginning of the term. There's also the issue that most students did come to class and did complete the work; how is it fair to them if I make exceptions?
One student who has missed at least four classes said to me in class today, "How can I fail the class if I did the assignments?" Well, the syllabus clearly states that you will lose ten points (out of 150) for each absence after one, and you turned in every assignment late. That's how you managed to fail. Another one wanted to negotiate his grade on the last paper. I'm all for students speaking up -- and I did re-assess the same student's paper earlier in the semester after a family emergency had kept him from turning it in on time; I took fewer points off for lateness than I had originally -- but I think hard about each score, and unless there's a good reason, I'm not changing it. A good reason is not, "I need to pass this class and my attendance and work have been subpar."
With freshmen in particular, I feel that because my class is often the first one they take, I need to teach them more than English. I'm setting the tone for their college careers, and maybe for their professional careers. Slacking and crying about it later won't get them anywhere.
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