Tuesday, November 11, 2008
The week begins
The students who presented yesterday all continued to improve and are almost ready for student teaching next semester.
I still find it interesting that when you email students two weeks ahead of time suggesting their options for what courses to take in the upcoming semester, they still wait until a few hours before their enrollment windows open to check to see if they can come by to talk to you more. (Hint: It's time to start making some of these decisions on your own. I'll be glad to put together your entire schedule but you won't like that it includes courses before 10 am . . . . :-) .) I wish there were way to help them understand that they are actually adults when they are in college and responsibilities come along with the freedoms. Because of administrative guidelines, I do the "here's what I suggest you take at a minimum" (ie keeping in mind prerequisites - especially when they affect a string of more than 2 years of courses and, almost as important, taking required courses before options/choices from larger groups so you don't get yourself in a corner. And, while I clearly understand we can't "make them" (signatures on a piece of paper before computers didn't guarantee that either), it's their responsibility to understand that they can easily prolong their stay at the university if they choose not to. We know their brains aren't always fully developed on the "long-term" scale until they are past college age (that's actual brain research, BTW) but there is a time for them to learn consequences if they haven't yet (and most have).
It was winter cold yesterday. I'm almost ready for that but would like a few more fall days first.
I still find it interesting that when you email students two weeks ahead of time suggesting their options for what courses to take in the upcoming semester, they still wait until a few hours before their enrollment windows open to check to see if they can come by to talk to you more. (Hint: It's time to start making some of these decisions on your own. I'll be glad to put together your entire schedule but you won't like that it includes courses before 10 am . . . . :-) .) I wish there were way to help them understand that they are actually adults when they are in college and responsibilities come along with the freedoms. Because of administrative guidelines, I do the "here's what I suggest you take at a minimum" (ie keeping in mind prerequisites - especially when they affect a string of more than 2 years of courses and, almost as important, taking required courses before options/choices from larger groups so you don't get yourself in a corner. And, while I clearly understand we can't "make them" (signatures on a piece of paper before computers didn't guarantee that either), it's their responsibility to understand that they can easily prolong their stay at the university if they choose not to. We know their brains aren't always fully developed on the "long-term" scale until they are past college age (that's actual brain research, BTW) but there is a time for them to learn consequences if they haven't yet (and most have).
It was winter cold yesterday. I'm almost ready for that but would like a few more fall days first.
Labels: advisement, presentations, semester, students
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