For better or for worse I’m around a lot of teachers this time of the year (and throughout the coming year). This is the time when most teachers are preparing their courses. They sit and create outlines. They type up their syllabi. They consult the required textbooks for the course they are about to teach. In all of this preparation (something that most take very seriously) there is an underlying anxiety that is manifested from horror stories and past experiences of teaching. This anxiety is expressed normally as a joke to lessen the sense of unease these teachers feel as they dilligently work towards a successful class. It is this joke that I want to share with you students today.
The running joke isn’t three parts and it really isn’t that funny but it basically outlines expectations for the course. No, not the content itself but the students. You see, the horror stories and past experiences tell us that we’ll have students who fail mainly because they want to. Who wants to fail, you ask? Take this brief story: A student is called into the professors office for an important meeting. The professor tells the student that they’ve missed too many classes and that they need to not miss any more or else they will fail the course. It is the last week of school so this should be an easy task. The student reveals that they’ve already purchased tickets to an out-of-town football game. The instructor tells the student that they have a choice to make: graduate or see a football game. What did the student choose to do? They went to the football game and didn’t get a degree.
This story isn’t as fictional as I’d like and is, in fact, all too common. I have had similar experiences with my own students. Teachers joke about what their students won’t do because it relieves the fear that one of them will do it again this next semester. While most students work hard and learn what they can from the courses they take the students who don’t stick out in their instructors’ minds. Make an effort this semester to stick out for being a great student.