Why should I concern myself with a student in a funk?
I suggested that it was assuming too much on my part, and that a “funk” is not a serious condition — it sounds to me like a pity party being held by a freshman experiencing her first finals week.
Is it not fair for me to find these emails unusually casual and personal for the student/instructor dynamic? Is it really my responsibility to assume details about students’ lives and refer them to services they didn’t ask about and with which I am not familiar? What I found rude was my colleagues’ pushing so hard against me. I’ve spent an entire semester with this student, and I’ve already made many accommodations for her, despite my displeasure at the excuse-making.Miss Manners understands that students may no longer recognize the power their professors have over them, partly because it is not always exercised.
Your concern should not be whether your students come to class, but whether they master the material and fulfill the assignments. Unless they are exhibiting bizarre behavior that should be reported to mental health experts, the rest of their lives are not your business. Apparently, your fellow instructors think otherwise, and sadly, you may not have the support of the university in grading students according to their achievements or failures to perform. In that case, the real losers would be the students, who not only miss out on the instruction you provide, but learn that whining works — and in the service of avoiding an education.
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