Reply #17: Happy to see you're a former academic. I'm current. [View All]

[mbperrin]

Too many "instructors" feel that the only way to learn the material in their class is to spend time in the box, large or small, that constitutes the classroom or lab. And the time must be spent with their wonderful selves, for which there are no substitutes, and which even a few minutes or hours missing cannot be ever recovered, so really, those students who miss any time for any reason should go weeping into the outer darkness in despair, and really should probably kill themselves, as they've missed the brass ring to all knowledge and success.

Or not. In reality, the purpose of the course is to allow students to master a minimum of 70% of the material at the undergrad level, and 80% in grad school. Asynchronous makeups on the web are an effective way to operate while maximizing time of both student and instructor, without the endless scheduling of face time. Peer tutoring and makeup exams at learning centers or testing centers or whatever the local campus calls them are also good ways to go.

It really depends on your view of education: either you are there to help students acquire knowledge in any way that they can, or you want to stamp "good" or "bad" on them like the assembly line process too many places have become, because it's easy for lazy instructors, and also gratifying to their egos.

Actually, since most people on the planet will never spend time in any particular classroom with any particular instructor, it is most unlikely that any of these teachers are absolutely critical to life on the planet as we know it, nor is it likely that personal contact with them is necessary for a fulfilling, productive, and happy life.

So.........work for student success. If not, please work elsewhere. Thank you.