Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Good thing for that particular student...

One of my students turned in their second paper three days late, then got angry that I didn't accept it, and gave them a 0. 

(It's clearly stated, both in the textbook and the syllabus, that I don't accept late work.  At all.)

Because they were doing so badly, I told them to turn their supposed-to-have-been-finished-and-forgotten paper during the last week of classes, when the rest were turning in revisions.  Just because I can be nice like that at the end of semester, when I'm going to be getting them out of my hair. 

They turned in a paper that referenced things that have happened within the last two weeks.  And they turned it in...late.  As in: the last day I was accepting work was last Friday, and the student turned  it in yesterday. 

I replied to the student that the last day I was accepting work was Friday, and they emailed me back, begging me to take the paper (which they claimed to think I would accept up until today), because they just couldn't get a single D--they'd lose their financial aid!!!!

As a side note, a single D shouldn't lose a student their financial aid.  I assume my class wasn't the only one this student half-assed.  I'd be willing to bet the student slacked off on everything, assumed the instructors would act like high-school teachers and take late work, then realized that there were going to be consequences for their poor decisions, and panicked. 

I wound up reading the paper, and then wound up copying and pasting various sentences into Bing to check them.  And found out the whole thing was plagiarized.

That student is lucky they turned in that paper so late.  If they'd turned it in last week, they wouldn't have a D for the class, they'd have an F, and they'd have a report of it on file with the Dean of Students.

If that student protests further, they'll have to face those consequences anyway.  Because I am fucking tired of the entitlement mentality that prompts students to assume that we'll take work whenever they feel like doing it and handing it in.

2 comments:

  1. You know, it amazes me that college students think that their professors are idiots. After you've taught a subject for any length of time, you know the subject cold. Backwards and forwards. You know the tricks, and you can probably quote the main source material verbatim from memory. And yet, students still feel the need to go full retard and try and get away with plagiarism and other means of cheating. It's no wonder society is on a one way trip to chaos.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It happens more and more. The kids are being taught that their actions don't have consequences, and that they've got unlimited do-overs by their high schools desperately trying to lower dropout rates and increase the numbers of their students heading for college.

      Then they get here, and discover that the world doesn't work that way. Some adapt. Some...don't.

      Like I said: that student's lucky I wasn't accepting any more work.

      Delete

Sorry, folks. A hundred plus spam comments in an hour equals moderation on older posts, so until further notice...you're gonna have to wait for your comments to be approved before they show up.