Over the course of 24 hours, I've received several emails from students begging for a due date change on their final paper. Are you kidding? They've known about this assignment since the beginning of the semester and have had explicit directions in their hands for well over a month. It's not like this is a 10-15 page paper, either; we're talking 3-5 pages of your own opinion! There's absolutely no research involved! On top of that, I had them submit what amounts to a shortened, practice version of the paper in the form of a think piece. Yesterday, I returned the think piece with what I thought would be helpful comments they could apply to the paper that's due Thursday. In fact, there's about 1/2 page or so from the think piece that can be copied directly to the the final paper. Getting feedback on a think piece that relates to a final paper is far more than students get from most teachers. Most professors would simply have them turn in the final paper without a trial run.
Here's a message to all those students who think it's a good idea to email a teacher and ask for an extension. Had you written a draft of your paper over the weekend, as I suggested, you wouldn't be scrambling to throw something together at the last second. In the time it took you to email me, you probably could have written another paragraph of your paper. Another suggestion: telling a professor that you're writing your paper the day before it's due isn't such a good idea. While we all assume that's what you're doing, we like it when you keep that to yourself. Finally, whining doesn't get you anywhere. We've all been stressed out during the college experience. We've all waited until the last second to write that paper. The one experience we don't share is complaining directly to our professor. Had I done that to Dr. B, he would have laughed me out of school. Complain to your friends, complain to your family, and complain to your co-workers. Your professor is the last person to whom you should complain.
So, there will be no due date changes. The date has been on the syllabus since the 1st day of class. See you Thursday!
2 comments:
All I know is that if we had tried that with Ms. Schulz, she would have responded with a gaze that would freeze Hades.
(And rightfully so.)
I am amazed at some of the people who pass for "students" these days, especially since I have entered graduate school. Most of them cannot write, they cannot talk, and based on class discussion, they cannot read. The story is worse when I grade undergraduate exams---I weep for the future.
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