It is now half-way through the semester where I teach. The students have all taken their midterm exams. They have been issued midterm grades. Some of them are doing well… and some of them are doing poorly. That is why it surprised me to receive an e-mail from a student concerning a required component of the course we spoke about on day one of the class. Today I would like to talk about responsibility. To be clear, this opinion comes from an instructor of a college-level course holding over 400 students. However, the principle applies to all levels of students and instructors.
I’ve had bad teachers. One of the best ways to see if you have a bad teacher is to ask yourself whether or not you know how to pass the course. Do you have homework? Is it worth something? Do you have tests? Are they worth something? Are they worth more than homework or less? Are the tests based on the homework? Do you have to write a paper? Go to an outside event? Check your e-mail daily? Is late work accepted? These questions should all be able to be answered. Education is, in many ways, like math. If you do this by then and this by then and then THIS by THE END then you will have completed all of the required assignments/tests. “This” is worth 20% and “THIS” is worth 80% of your final grade. Math, math, math!
This is where responsibility comes in. If your teacher is a good teacher you will be able to understand how to succeed in the class. If you “can” understand how to succeed in the class it is your responsibility to understand that you “need to” succeed in the class. Halfway through the class is not the time to contact your teacher and say, “I never knew that we had to be turning in homework … so, is there anyway I can still pass?” Sometimes failure is the lesson. Learn from other peoples failures to not fail yourself. Good teachers don’t fail you, you do it to yourself. Don’t do it!