Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Teaching -- student shenanegans

So,

The week before break I have a paper due. I get two versions from a student... one on-time and one two days late. Neither of them are complete, as she ends the paper mid-sentence. I don't grade them, but I also put them in the wrong pile--

When her class gets them back, she doesn't get her's. She freaks out and tells me she'll print another one. Later she sends an e-mail teling me it is in my mailbox (it isn't.. hmmm) and here is the attachment as well.

I find the two other versions after an e-mail exchange. I tell her she needs to tell me which one to grade. I have not had a response as of yet. I know she didn't turn it in with the class because I wrote "on-time" on it, when I wouldn't have if it were with the others -- but it must have been very close or I'd have taken a penalty off...

What I won't do is to grade the most recent version like it was on-time. Revisions are late papers-- the revision has to be worth the late penalty. I get the feeling she's done this before.. I think what she did was to turn in the paper as she had it at the time it was due. Later, when I ask her for the rest of it -- as it ends mid-sentence -- she'll give me the revised version which is complete. It looks like a sneaky way to get an extension to me --- and I won't fall for it.

She also turned in a summary paper early -- I think she said she thought that was what was due -- but that she'd go print the other paper "right away" -- i.e give it a few more minutes of work, then print and turn in.

If I didn't have this long debate trip coming up, I'd take the time to compare her e-mailed version with the other two to see if she's trying to make improvements she think I won't see.

Maybe I'm biased against pretty, thin young girls -- but I get the feeling that she thinks that just because I'm a plus-sized person I'm not all that bright. It isn't anything definite, just the way she looks at me and the way she strolls into class late... it makes me read disrespect from her, which pisses me off. I should stop, as her issues more than likely have nothing to do with me.

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