Need a suggestion for work (school)

[ForresterModern]

If the students can't be bothered, why should you be? As has been suggested, fail them.

That is the school I am from. tests are mandatory----don't take them, fail the class. But actual classroom attendance is optional. In my med school we students banded together to generate a note taking service, wherein each student had responsibility for generating quality summary notes of a few lectures a semester, while others had responsibility to record those lectures on tape, and others to photocopy and distribute the final written/typed notes.

Many of the classes I took I almost never showed up except for tests and the textbooks were so good that my time was better spent reading them, repeatedly sometimes, instead of sitting in class listening to someone discuss less than one tenth of what we were responsible for, and then still having to do the same reading.

Every student, sooner or later, figures out their own learning style and motivation (or lack thereof) and their eventual grades reflect that. And their position in later life reflects it often as well.

[puffer]

How about one text/email message to all the students telling them that if they miss three lectures or one exam they willFAIL the class?

I know this is awfully politically not correct, seeing as how 99 & 44/100 % of all students feel entitled to at least a "C" merely for enrolling in a class, but hey! I'm a big believer in the concept of dumping the deadwood at the first good opportunity.

I AGREE. Sadly to say you are correct, in that it would NOT be PC. The idea is that if a student is FAILED then 2 things
1. The school & the teacher will face the WRATH of the parent.
2. The Student's "fragile self image" will be "shattered"

RESULT, when the student "enters" the REAL WORD, & he/she can not get a job, or keep one, REALITY SETS IN.

Puffer

[CDNSushi]

Yes, I know. Believe me, I know. Unfortunately, perhaps I wasn't clear enough in my initial explanation.

Neither I nor the department head have any power over deciding whether students pass or fail based on STUPIDITY. The directive comes from above OUR heads... It's a broken system and we can't fix it. In Japan, the squeaky wheel doesn't get the grease... The nail that sticks up gets beaten down.

The students get credit for attending class and not for demonstrating knowledge. I have students who don't know what a binder is. When I told them to review material for their test, I had people rifling through cardboard boxes, pulling out fistfuls of crumpled up scrap paper... (Just as an example).

The following is standard operating procedure at the college:

1. Take roll call
2. Are students missing? If yes, proceed to step 3.
3. Is it a critical class (like an exam for instance)? If yes, proceed to step 4.
4. Inform the class advisor
5. The class advisor calls the student on their cellphone to find out why they're not in class. If no answer on cell phone, proceed to steps 6,7,8 as needed.
6. Call the student on their home phone. Repeat step 5.
7. Call both students' parents at work to see if they know why their son/daughter is not in school.
8. If no answer at any phone number, class advisor hops into his/her car and drives to the student's home to knock on the door just in case.

Now, let's assume that the student in question really does FAIL... The administration will review the case, call in the class advisor and teacher, and interview them to determine if steps 1-8 were followed. If not, said teachers are in trouble because they didn't have the student's best interest in mind.

Yes, it's a B.S. system. I hate it. The teachers and department heads hate it. But there is honestly and seriously nothing that we can do to fight it or change it... THEREFORE, since we can't change it, we're trying to brainstorm a way to at least facilitate carrying out (and prevent the necessity of) aforementioned steps 5-7. Then, if/when administration asks us: did you make a reasonable attempt to contact the student when it was found out they were absent, we can say: "absolutely."

[siva011]

I know that you can register your cell phone number with the local news radio station here, and if your kids or your school is closed due to inclement weather, you get a text message saying so. So a program of some sort exists, or they just add to an email message group:

I know you can email messages to phone numbers. maybe on the first day of class have everyone fill out a form with their numbers, then take those and create a mailing group. Then, when you want to send a message to everyone in the class, just send a message to the group.

That is the technical answer. My personal answer would be if it is high school or below, call the parents. If it is college, then too bad- they are adults and they fail.

[siva011]

After reading your steps above, sounds like the ones set up to fail are the teachers. I'd raise the question that constantly wasting time on these issues is not keeping the best interest of the responsible people in the class that actually want to learn. Taking quality learining time out for attendance is not keeping the students' best interest in mind.

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Yes, I know. Believe me, I know. Unfortunately, perhaps I wasn't clear enough in my initial explanation.

Neither I nor the department head have any power over deciding whether students pass or fail based on STUPIDITY. The directive comes from above OUR heads... It's a broken system and we can't fix it. In Japan, the squeaky wheel doesn't get the grease... The nail that sticks up gets beaten down.

The students get credit for attending class and not for demonstrating knowledge. I have students who don't know what a binder is. When I told them to review material for their test, I had people rifling through cardboard boxes, pulling out fistfuls of crumpled up scrap paper... (Just as an example).

The following is standard operating procedure at the college:

1. Take roll call
2. Are students missing? If yes, proceed to step 3.
3. Is it a critical class (like an exam for instance)? If yes, proceed to step 4.
4. Inform the class advisor
5. The class advisor calls the student on their cellphone to find out why they're not in class. If no answer on cell phone, proceed to steps 6,7,8 as needed.
6. Call the student on their home phone. Repeat step 5.
7. Call both students' parents at work to see if they know why their son/daughter is not in school.
8. If no answer at any phone number, class advisor hops into his/her car and drives to the student's home to knock on the door just in case.

Now, let's assume that the student in question really does FAIL... The administration will review the case, call in the class advisor and teacher, and interview them to determine if steps 1-8 were followed. If not, said teachers are in trouble because they didn't have the student's best interest in mind.

Yes, it's a B.S. system. I hate it. The teachers and department heads hate it. But there is honestly and seriously nothing that we can do to fight it or change it... THEREFORE, since we can't change it, we're trying to brainstorm a way to at least facilitate carrying out (and prevent the necessity of) aforementioned steps 5-7. Then, if/when administration asks us: did you make a reasonable attempt to contact the student when it was found out they were absent, we can say: "absolutely."

Culturally the Japanese seem to be vastly more concerned with following process than with obtaining acceptable results. In my experience Japanese management is more concerned with the appearance of being seen to follow process irrespective of how things turn out. If it turns out well, then everyone can bask in the glory of a job well done.

If on the other hand, it all turns to poo, well no one is to blame because they all followed process.

I don't know why you bother to put up with it.

[ForresterModern]

Sounds like your system is the used car that has outlived its usefullness, is waiting for that potentially life threatening critical breakdown with you at the wheel, and needs to be retired. My suggestion, go shopping for a new car, i.e., get the heck out of there as you are being set up for failure.

[Beertigger]

Easy - require every student to follow a twitter account.

[CDNSushi]

I don't know why you bother to put up with it.

Because I'm very well compensated to put up with it. If it weren't for that, I would've left this country years ago.

Some day, things will change but that will have to come from above. If the school ever got a principal that was forward-thinking enough and liberal enough, this kind of B.S. would be out the window in a cocaine heartbeat. Problem is, such people are pretty rare. I've met a couple here and there though.

In the mean time, I'm just going to plod along and do the best job I can with the tools I have. Along the way, if I can find some things to make the job easier, I'll be happy. :-)

Thanks for the hints & suggestions, everyone.

[greenman11]

We have the exact system you envision in our school system. It generally comes into play for snow days, but is used for truency also. Check with your local school system.

Regards,