Posted by gardenergirl on September 3, 2004, at 1:35:38
In reply to Re: Being Compassionate, posted by JenStar on September 2, 2004, at 13:27:32
JenStar,
Your post reminded me a bit of when I was a teaching assistant for a psych. lab course. The professor who designed the course was someone who really liked rules. Everytime something came up with regards to a student, in particular related to how she graded something, she would make a new rule for next year that would avoid the situation. Dang, she had so many rules, it was like a fascist regime! (I really think she justed hated conflict.) I would frame it to the students that the expectations for the class were clearly spelled out. They may not like the rules, but the syllabus clearly defined what had to be done and what could not be done in order to get a certain grade.Now in teaching, there are always students who come to you with a situation that gets you to think about whether you can waive the rules in this one case. I really struggled with this and was usually not likely to do it. But in one case, I sought consulation with a different professor who was supervising the class that semester. She pointed out to me that the syllabus was like a contract between you and the student. At the same time, if you felt it was appropriate to renegotiate the contract based on extenuating circumstances, then that was within your right as the instructor. (Notice, she never did tell me what I should do...the hazard of working for psychologists...:).
It was hard to make the decision, because you hear a lot of stories from students. Grandma's are sick or die frequently it seems, especially around the time of exams. But what if Grandma really IS sick? How do you make that decision? My method was to stick to the rules as much as possible unless my gut was just crying out to "renegotiate" them. Ironically, in the one case I sought consulation on, it turned out the student never followed up, so she failed anyway...All that agonizing for an anticlimactic result! Aagh!
This sure ain't easy, I would imagine. That being said, I think that when there is a great deal of questioning and posting surrounding a block, it is not always a popularity contest, but rather may represent true cofusion and/or true gut reactions that something isn't right. It would be nice if we at least knew that Dr. Bob's gut was resonating, even if he chooses not to renegotiate the rules.
gg
poster:gardenergirl
thread:385696
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20040902/msgs/385910.html