Concerning Attendance

-

Now that (I hope) the majority of the severe winter weather is behind us, it is time to tighten up on attendance—to get more professional. Here is a reminder of the basics from our syllabus:

  • The class actually begins at 10:00 AM. I expect to start doing things then and I expect you to be ready to start then too.
  • If you show up between 10:05 and 10:10, I will count you as present but late. You get 50% credit for attendance.
  • If you show up after 10:10, you do not get credit for attending, but you are welcome to stay.
  • If you spend the time sleeping, staring out the window, doing homework for other classes, or playing on your phone, you get 25% credit for attendance.
  • If you are in the habit of ducking out to use the toilet, etc., I will apply the “late” penalty—50% attendance credit for that day.

I have been leaving the door unlocked during the class period, but if we begin having security issues on campus, the door will be locked at 10:10 AM.

Reading Quizzes

We will have a few quizzes during the semester. They will all begin at the top of the hour—10:00 AM. They are brief, only about ten minutes, so if you show up late, you might miss the chance to take the quiz.

And a thought from business

I have worked at a lot of jobs over the years, been a supervisor, etc. The usual understanding about “start time” for a real-world job is “at your work station with all your tools, ready to start production,” not “dashing in the door at the last second, spending ten minutes pulling yourself together, and immediately leaving to use the toilet.” I would dock your pay for that behavior.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Snow Days

-
The university just canceled classes for Monday, January 26, so we can all hide out, drink hot chocolate, and try to figure out the rest of our lives. I have no idea how much longer the snow emergency will last (and some news outlets think we might be looking at several days), so I am using this somewhat more human way to communicate. Better than email. Academic stuff As I said Friday, college class schedules are tight enough that we cannot simply take a day off. (I have been grading your in-class papers this weekend, so I know what it’s like to do a working vacation.) You have two main tasks for our course: Begin drafting your “Memorable Teacher” paper. Keep up with your daily Blackboard reading. You would be really wise to pace yourself—and keep up with all your reading for your other courses as well. Perhaps you could simply follow your usual daily schedule of classes, but do it in your bedroom with your computer. Non-academic stuff I just looked out the back door (4 PM...
Read more

The Washington Quote for Midterm

-
This is the Booker T. Washington quotation which I gave you for the midterm in-class: The highest education is that which fits an individual to live successfully in the community where his life is thrown. The object of all education, no matter by what name it is called, should be to fit the individual to articulate what he has learned in the school room into the active, everyday life of the community in which he lives. I would say that the really important part is the last, the idea that true education fits a person to give back to the community—not simply to make money for one’s own benefit.
Read more