Rants of a University Professor

Some things just must be documented. Have fun!

[rantingprof-blog]

Entry #11

Email sent by student 1 week before the end of the semester: “Can I retake those 21 quizzes?”

[rantingprof-blog]

Entry #10

Email sent by student at 5:04am the morning of the Final Exam: “I have noticed that i didnt get credit for some of the discussion questions i did but they didnt show i did them i did however do them on time its not my fault that the system did show them right i need all the help i can get in order to pass this class i have worked real hard in to order to pass. I also was wondering why our homework was not included in this grading system you put on the tools page i should be able to pass this course in that i have gotten a 65 % in total score on the  compass  i believe you not being a professor for this course should not be my fault they didnt have enough teacher/professors for all students to take what was needed if they could not get another professor to teach this class then it never should of been offered.”

[rantingprof-blog]

Entry #9

Email on Day 1 of course: “Professor Miller,  Hi this is [NAME] in your Math online course for this summer. For the summer I am back home in [LOCATION] and am going to need my ebook shipped to me. I am trying to complete all the homework that I can without the use of the textbook. If it does not come in by Saturday, will I be counted late on assignments? I want to do the best I can in your class! Thank you so much and hope you're having a marvelous day!”

[rantingprof-blog]

Entry #8

Student: “Can you tell me what my grade is?”

Me: “50.4%”

Student: “And that’s not passing...is it?”

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Entry #7

So I have been teaching for over 5 years at the university and today I got my first fully glowing report from a student.  Thought I’d share...

“Mrs. Miller,

I just wanted to drop you a quick e-mail to give you a big thank you. I have never been good with Math, NOT because I'm not smart, or because I never cared. I grew up in a rough home and had a really rough childhood. I went to fifteen different schools throughout my childhood; as you can imagine, it was really hard to ever develop a foundation to understand Math when every school I went to was always at a different spot, or studying something different. 

When I started this class, I was full of fear, thinking that I may never understand Math. It is because of you, that I have started to develop the foundation that I needed to understand Math and not be afraid of it anymore. Your teaching style is fantastic, and I appreciated how you really broke things down and explained them. 

When I read your teacher bio about your experience with the Joplin tornado; how God has brought you through it and is a big part of your life, I was very taken back; not because it offends me, but because I got through all of my hard times because I love the Lord as well. THANK YOU for sharing that. I feel like everything is  a part of God's divine plan, and I was placed in your class to learn from you because of that plan. 

I know being a teacher sometimes comes without thank you's and can be rough and stressful. I just wanted to reach out and let you know that you ARE appreciated, and you have helped to change my life. 

All the best”

[rantingprof-blog]

Entry #6

I am offering the Final exam at 7:00am.

7:00am: Student 1 emails me stating they’d be 20 minutes late.

7:18am: Student 2 arrives.

7:20am: Student 3 emails me saying they’ll be late.

7:25am: Student 3 shows up.

7:41am: Student 4 emails me asking what room the Final is in and when it’s being given.

I never would have considered showing up late to a final, and yet I have 3-5 students that do it each semester. 

[rantingprof-blog]

Entry #5

Syllabus: All assignments, including Homework, Quizzes, Tests, Discussion Boards, and resets, are due by NOON on the last day of classes.

Weekly announcement starting at Week 12: 5/6/16: All assignments due by NOON

Week 16 announcement: All assignments are due by Friday at NOON.  There will be no exceptions or extensions.

May 6th at 4pm: I thought we had until midnight to complete our assignments.

[rantingprof-blog]

Entry #4

Week 1: Syllabus posted which has testing days for the Midterm and Final listed.

Week 4: Reminding students that their Midterm is held during the 8th week and they need to make arrangements to take it.

Week 5: Another reminder telling them when I am offering the Midterm, that they need to take it in person, and if they cannot take it with me they need to arrange for a proctor.

Week 6: Urgent reminder letting students know that they need to RSVP with me or arrange for a proctor ASAP.

Week 7: Letting students know that they can take the exam any day this week though a proctor or with me on testing day during Week 8.  Also reminding them that they must take it by the day I’m offering it to avoid penalty.

Week 8: Reminding students of testing.

Week 9: 15 emails from students telling me they didn’t know when the Midterm was or how to take it.

[rantingprof-blog]

Entry #3

Me: “You need to get 139 out of 200 possible points on the Final Exam to pass this course.”

Student: “So if I fail the Final I still pass right?”

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Entry #2

Situation: Student gets incredibly high scores on all of his/her assignments throughout the semester and gets them very fast.  Then student shows up to take the Midterm in person and doesn’t know how to access the site all of the assignments are on or log in.

[rantingprof-blog]

Entry #1

Student: “If I do not complete all of my assignments will that affect my grade?”

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Outlet Needed

So I’ve decided to start this little blog to get out some steam about teaching and the incredible stories that I am told via my students.  

So here’s the background info:

I am a young, stay-at-home mom to a toddler who also teaches online Math courses for a local university.  I have been doing this for 5 years now.  I created all of my own videos and have them all uploaded on my site.  I teach the lowest level of math offered at our university for students who either are not good at math, couldn’t test high enough to get into the needed math course for their degree, or haven’t had math in so long they wish to have a refresher.

So yeah, that’s me and my job.  Enjoy the posts of incredulousness that is to follow.