Suppose you need to communicate some bad news to a significant chunk of the students in a class: "If you keep missing class, you're in danger of failure" or "Your plagiarism has resulted in an F on the paper" or "I'm really disappointed in your performance on the midterm exam." Many--but not all--of the students need to hear the message, and you'd rather say it once and get it over with than deal with students one-on-one, or maybe you've already tried the one-on-one route and it's time for the Come to Jesus Speech.
Here's the question: how much time do you devote to delivering this message in class?
And here's the other question: how do you soften the blow for the students who don' t need to hear the message?
This morning I needed to remind about a third of my freshman writing students that consistently coming to class late will result in a lower grade. Earlier in the semester, I spoke to the offending students individually and saw some improvement, but lately this big clot of students has been wandering in late just about every day, and I wanted to sternly remind them of the consequences. On the other hand, I didn't want to dump this big pile of negative energy on the students who somehow manage to come to class on time every day.
So I thanked them. At the start of class, before the habitually tardy students arrived, I told the students how much I appreciate their prompt attendance, and then I said, "In a little while I'll be delivering a different message about tardiness, but I wanted you to know that it's not for you." They seemed pleased. To judge from my e-mail inbox, the tardy students were less pleased with the message I reserved for them.
The worst waste of time I've ever seen was when a professor spent 50 minutes of a 75-minute class reaming out the students for their bad performance on an exam. Halfway through the tirade, the student sitting next to me turned red and started to vibrate as if about to spontaneously combust, and that was before she saw her grade on the exam.
She got a 92.
That's one student who did not need to be raked over the coals for poor performance for 50 minutes, and I suspect there were others in the same boat. I can imagine other solutions: allow the students who did well to leave early; cut down the length of the tirade so that it's not an entirely wasted class; deliver the bad news briefly and with a smile and schedule a separate session for students who need extra attention.
It's probably easier to just stand up there and yell for 50 minutes, but what possible pedagogical purpose could such a performance serve?
2 comments:
I sometimes pass a warning note back along with whatever work I'm passing back. So, folks who haven't done well on quizzes will get a note offering to give them extra help in office hours or whatever, along with their specific numbers.
When I'm doing test prep, I tell my students that I try to write tests that really good students who've studied hard, been to class and participated thoughtfully, taken notes, etc will do well on, and students who haven't been to class or done the reading will fail miserably at. Then I note that everyone who's in class has already done that part, at least :)
I like the crushing homework assignment given to only the offenders sort of punishment, myself. Then again, your Come to Jesus speeches always scared the bejesus out of me - and I wasn't even a target!
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