gkbill wrote: ↑30 Nov 2023, 11:39pm
Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑30 Nov 2023, 10:35pm
Minor bit of context (not that it might add anything). Guy's a football player from the US. Presumably some kind of scholarship involved. But my experience with student athletes is that there's no middle ground—they are either hyper responsible toward their studies or they are are the laziest, blow shit off, beg for a pass at the end types. And, unfortunately, my courses, because they have "fun" subject matter, attracts a lot of people who think it's conducive to lazyitis. I wish I could be more like gkbill, but deep down I'm still libertarian with school and so I'm rarely confrontational. My big error in all this was not tackling it earlier, just reminding people not to use their phones in class or to start each lecture by asking them to put their phones away, but instead let it mushroom into this situation. That part is on me. But it's making me look forward to December break more than ever before.
Hello,
I can appreciate having a libertarian attitude - but are you helping the student by having this viewpoint?
Were I a high school teacher, I would take a different approach. But these are adults taking my class voluntarily. My instinct and by pedagogy, I have to give people room to move and to think, so to speak. It works very well for those who want to try, encouraging and rewarding them by following their own interests and ideas, to believe that they can actually do this stuff. If I start going down the road of more restrictions and actively seeking out violators, my fear is that I start shutting down that atmosphere that benefits others. Yes, there is a line to walk between the two, but it's easier said than done, and much harder for someone who just doesn't gravitate to the firm hand. You have to stay within yourself, to maximize your strengths and minimize your weaknesses. It's not a one-size-all method. It's also worth appreciating that I'm a sessional instructor, not tenured faculty, and that lack of job security, even if only unconsciously, affects approach.
I teach at a small liberal arts school - student-athletes are tremendously important as (overall) they are retained at a higher rate than regular students and they (overall) have better academic performances (you can question their motivation - do I want to learn or do I want to stay eligible?). I would much rather have some student-athletes in class rather than have no student-athletes. Athletes understand "you practice, you get better, you get more success" and quite often this transfers to the classroom in that "You study (practice), you get better, you get more success". Your experiences may differ. It may help that I have an athletic background and that buys me some credibility.
That speaks to my comment about my observations to student athletes are either very disciplined or very lazy. Some apply their sports habits to the classroom, others divide their lives between sports and everything else.
"Ain't no party like an S Club party!'" - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft