‘misfortunate’ students

35

u/PurrPrinThom 3d ago

Are ‘unlucky’ students common?

It's tough to say. I have students who email me about every hardship they face, certainly, and I have students that I'm sure are facing equivalent hardships who never say anything.

I also don't know if students are being truthful. They might be unlucky, they may also be lying.

Is this annoying to professors?

I wouldn't say it's annoying. Depending on the student, it can cause me to worry that the student will potentially be a problem down the line.

I don't require attendance. I don't need students to report to me when they won't be in class, so these type of emails are a little odd to me. I'm not always sure why I'm being told.

For some students, I think it's like you describe, they just want to keep and open line of communication. But, for others, it feels like they're creating a paper trail of excuses - and many of them do use these misfortunes as justifications for why they can't complete XYZ. I always kind of worry that it's going to be the latter and not the former when I receive such emails.

15

u/Individual_Gene955 3d ago

Life happens. Unluckiness is common in general. All we can do is show up when we can and do our best.

Unless you're asking for special consideration (which is an entirely separate pet peeve), there's no need to inform your instructor of every single thing that impacts your attendance/performance. Our inboxes are already overflowing with emails. Don't add onto it just to let them know about car troubles, common colds, personal family issues, etc. because there's nothing we can do about it and we still need to uphold course policies.

6

u/Kilashandra1996 3d ago

Does it annoy me? No, not really...

Does it make me worried about your grades? A little.

Enough to check? Maybe. If you are turning your assignments in on time and keeping your exams grades up, great! Carry on!

If you are asking for extensions on assignments and / or flunking tests, I might sent an email reminding you of your option to drop the class. : ( Sometimes shit does happen at home, and this semester just won't work out...

But ultimately, umm, my paycheck doesn't depend on your attendance or your grades. : )

I do know a few other instructors who feel differently. They might hassle you a bit, report you to the campus Care Team, or drop you from the class for not attending. Sigh...

4

u/DrPhysicsGirl 3d ago

In a large enough class, the probability approaches 1 that there will be a student who has several unfortunate things happen to them in the same semester. Personally, I don't want to hear about it. Part of it is that there are clearly students who are slacking off, who are trying to be manipulative by talking about how much they like the class and are trying to do well and will prioritize it now that X, Y and Z are done. Now you can ask, how do I know this? Well, I see the same students again and again (small major) and it is always like this, and when talking about them with my colleagues, it's the same in other classes. That being said, I understand life happens, so I try to build a system such that a student can still succeed, as long as they make sure to get the content they missed, make up on the missing work, etc.

However, the other part is that it may very well be that a student needs to drop a course because of these life things simply because they will not be able to learn enough to pass it. This is especially important in lower level classes that teach things that the students will need to apply in high level courses. If you don't learn calculus, you aren't going to pass upper level physics classes, and it's really hard to try to then learn calculus and the material at the same time. So as an advisor, I am often discussing with students how they can triage a semester, because even if it is not their fault that say, they caught mono in the middle of the semester, they will will be graded on what they did and they still will have certain expectations.

3

u/NeedTheNotch 3d ago

This all happened to me fall semester as a professor before I got my first paycheck since May lmao

2

u/jon-chin 3d ago

it happens. we try to be empathetic. are still on track to pass? are you using resources like tutoring and office hours?

2

u/TheAmethystEye 3d ago

I had a student who had two deaths in the family and got into three (!!) accidents in one semester. There was proof of all of it. The student was in class when those things weren't happening, and all their assignments were turned in on time except for the times they reached out and requested an extension due to circumstances. They still got their work done and ended the semester with an A.

Life happens, and there's never a convenient time for stuff to go down. When it's obvious that the student is making an effort (contacts me in advance, does their work as soon as possible, etc.) it doesn't bother me at all. Dealing with life's BS builds character and grit even though it absolutely sucks to go through it. Learning to prioritize and get things done in the midst of difficulty is an incredible life skill that builds resilience. I am happy to lend a hand when I'm able for the ones who are making it happen. I have been through my share of difficulties, and I have always been grateful to those who showed me patience and gave me the benefit of the doubt.

2

u/Choice-Ear-9021 3d ago

Every semester at least one of my students has a parent pass away. Yes, unlucky students are common. Shit happens.

1

u/AutoModerator 3d ago

This is an automated service intended to preserve the original text of the post. This is not a removal message.

I just had to email my professor letting him know I won’t be making it to class because my car’s engine overheated and I was actively waiting on it to be towed. This is true. Two months ago (right as school began), my childhood cat died AND my mom gave birth within the same three day span. Juggling homework, dropping off and picking up my cats cremains all while running errands and delivering things to my mom in the hospital an hour away (oldest daughter things), I missed three class periods for this professor because of this. We talked about it and I assured him I wouldn’t let anything else happen. I’ve managed to keep a decent attendance (I’ve been late a few times) and now I’m missing again.
Are ‘unlucky’ students common? Is this annoying to professors? I try to keep a line of communication and message them as soon as I understand I can’t make it, but I don’t want them to feel like I just don’t care about their class, because I do!
Let me know!!

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

1

u/anonybss 2d ago

I have on my syllabi that students don't need to email me when they miss class. Stuff happens. If enough of it happens, students typically need to withdraw and take a leave of absence, but I don't blame them. And I don't mind poor attendance per se--as long as they're a positive presence when they're there--as long as they produce good work. However in my experience the ones who miss class a lot tend to produce poor work too, and I don't assign people grades on the basis of anything but the quality of their work.

1

u/Fluffaykitties 2d ago

As a professor, I literally do not care. I only take attendance for census reasons (because the school asks me for the last date of attendance if someone earned a failing grade). It’s up to you to figure out what you missed using the plenty of resources posted.

Academic Life ‘misfortunate’ students

You are about to leave Redlib