Want a Little Whine With That?

I normally have a great bunch of students and I did again this last semester but there is always one. Here we are just about through the first week of the New Year and I have just received my 4th grade begging email from this one student. Now he is listing extra credit events that he did not report during the semester and bringing out swine flu for the first time. (reminds me of the number of students who suddenly had relatives in the Twin Towers back in 2001) My job is to get students ready for the workplace and this guy isn`t ready. But I took all this time to answer this guy so I might as well get a blog post out of it.

Quoting R__ A______@csu.fullerton.edu:

I went to several gallery openings on and off campus. One of which I put on early in the semester on campus.

I went to the orange county tattoo convention. I've been attending meetings discussing the terms of an upcoming imagineering international contest. I'm participating in a group consisting of illustrators, painters, sculptors and architects. Also, went to a guest speaker, but it was a fine artist.

I didn't know if all networking events had to be specifically pertaining to commercial arts. Being a fine artist, I participate and attend art shows regularly where much of the networking I do occurs.

Also, I was sick with the flu, but being that I have no health insurance, there's no proof the flu i had was H1N1.

This kind of stuff should have been taken care of during the semester. There was a time and a place to list all of these extra credit events but you did not bother.

All the procedures of the class were explained during the first session and were also covered in the syllabus. When I was teaching high school I forced students to sign a document stating that they had read the syllabus but this is college you`re an adult.

If you had put the kind of effort into the class work during the semester that your are doing post semester you would not need to try to retro-beg and nit pick your way into a passing grade.

Even your possible swine flu seems a bit contrived and grasping at straws at this very late date. I did have another student who missed more than the allotted number of classes because the doctor was testing him for swine flu. He contacted me at the time of the sickness and brought in a doctor`s note. He therefore got credit for the missed class.

And before you go into the no money for health care argument again there is a health center on campus and students have to pay a health fee each semester. Quote:

“Basic medical care is available to all currently enrolled CSUF students. The Student Health and Counseling Center is supported by general fees and student funds, and operates like a prepaid health plan. The cost of the basic care given in the Student Health Services, except for augmented services, is covered at no charge. Emergency care may be obtained at any of the 23 California State University campuses.”

You didn`t put the effect into the class when you had the chance. You couldn`t even bother to list the events that you attended. You only come up with the swine flu excuse after all else failed. That says it all to me. I can`t see that there is any reason for me to make an exception in your case.

You earned the grade you earned. On top of that you have made me waste my time telling you what you already know. You do the work and attend my class and you pass my class, do don`t do the work and attend you don`t. If you displayed this attitude in the workplace you would not hold onto a job for very long.

Larry Loc