There are things in life that are surprising and things in life that are expected. I’ve been fortunate to deal with both, but lately the expected is taking hold. As expected, the winding of the clock down towards semester absolution brings out the worst in all of us. For me it is a matter of trying to cram in as much learning as possible almost as if to make up for the days I wasn’t that great as a teacher. For them–some of them–it is a time to beg for grades above and beyond what was earned. We do this dance every semester, but I wonder if they’ll understand what they’re really asking for when the music stops.
Students often see the Community College as ‘less than’ which leads to a certain boldness when it comes to asking for grades. Why not? We aren’t a real college, so academic integrity shouldn’t matter. Its as if they are saying, “know your place” without once recognizing that demeaning this place by default demeans themselves as students in this place. I cannot change a grade from a D to an A because bad things are happening in your life. Bad things happen in every life. Every semester I walk away a little more encouraged and enlightened by that handful of students who’ve seen the real struggles of life and emerged from that with a clear understanding of the value and role of college–even community college–in their lives.
It is the other kind that vexes me. The ‘vacationer’ college student is a fixture of the institution. That Van Wilder-esque student who feels like they don’t need to apply themselves, because if they did the work would be so easy that it wouldn’t be worth doing. Too many students believe their own myth. I think that is because too many students are a product of their environment, and that environment isn’t riddled with strife the way it is with so many more successful students. People who understand struggle and survive it are the ones who tend to be successful in my book.
Or maybe I’m just rambling.