BRCC Broken Record
On impulse, I searched my blog for all references to BRCC. The search was actually motivated by a desire to see how badly I was trashing my place of employment. As it turns out, not so bad. What I noticed, though, is a broken record rant and so I’ve decided I need to do something about this.
My perpetual rant is a complaint about a particular set of behaviors common to many BRCC students, specifically absenteeism and the failure to turn in work. It’s obvious to me after reviewing my posts that I cannot wrap my brain around this problem. I’ve tried to be proactive about it but my solutions produce epic fails.
Last semester I had a particularly problematic class. (I got barely a 3.0 in my evals from that class, incidentally, my lowest evar). It was so difficult to manage that I even posted on the POD list asking for advice, which is something I’ve never done before. I believe I have a rather expansive bag of teaching tools and tricks, I have a defined but not inflexible pedagogy, and I know where to find research to help me adapt my teaching as needed. Still, in an act of desperation, I turned to the POD list. I received several creative suggestions, some of which I implemented right away and some of which I’m still mulling over.
One person on the POD list made the point that I needed to connect with the students who were absent or failing to turn in their work and find out why they were doing that — on an individual level. By the time I appealed to the POD list, it was too late in the semester for that type of intervention to help, but I took the point to heart. As always, I am torn between accommodating and spoon feeding. I’ve always been driven by “student-centered” pedagogy. (Don’t get me started on how vapid and cliche the whole idea of “student-centered pedagogy” is, just work with me here.) So I ruminated on this suggestion until I landed on the thorny idea (ouch) of bonus points.
Now, I have always been resistant to the idea of bonus points. I’ve opposed the idea of rewarding someone with a grade because they attended some sort of cultural event that has no direct relation to my class. I believe that participating in cultural events is good, yes, and it’s part of the education process, yes. I do not, however, believe that it is classwork. Having interpersonal relationships is also part of the education process as is having a job or being in a student club. All of these things directly relate to school because education does not exist in a vacuum. None of these things, however, constitute actual coursework. When I teach a student, I have an obligation to teach them to master a content area and develop a skill set. Watching a dance troupe in and of itself does not assist in that process any more than does watching a sit com. I don’t give bonus points for watching “Two and a Half Men.” And thus my philosophy went….
This semester I developed a rather extensive bonus point system that built on some things I was already doing and it’s something I can live with. In brief, I reward students who try to learn study skills and who try to learn how to learn. As a carrot, I’ve been giving students points for coming to see me with a completed speech outline before the due date. I did this to help students improve their speeches and to ensure that at least some students would be prepared to deliver speeches on time. I’ve been giving students points for doing an analysis of their returned tests to find out what they can do to improve their test-taking skills. I added to that a bonus for visiting the writing tutors with their paper before turning it in to me.
Mostly, though, I developed a bonus for what I’ve called a “Learning Checkpoint.” The students must fill out a questionnaire that asks them about their educational experiences and desires and I fill out a checklist of whether or not they are doing the standard sort of things one does to earn a good grade. This allows me to have an extensive conversation with students about their goals, desires, and needs as well as teach them some basic college skills (like…buying the book…or reading the syllabus). As one person pointed out to me, the “good” students, i.e., those who don’t need this help, will be the ones who use it while the students who need the help, the ghosts, won’t. So, we’ll see.
I think that for my own sanity I really must develop a “horse to water” philosophy. I really can’t make someone come to class. I really can’t make someone turn in their work. I can analyze, tweak, obsess, accommodate, fix, re-fix, adjust, adapt, and ruminate all I want to, but in the end there are people I can’t rescue, can’t educate, can’t motivate, can’t inspire, and..well..can’t teach. That’s a very difficult thing to accept. Very.
I reflect on that old saw, “feed a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” Maybe some people are just too damned hungry to learn how to fish. Maybe some people need some fish in their belly before they can cast a line for themselves. Maslow certainly would say that. I’m not sure Paulo Freire had to contend with the lure (haha! Pun!) of mythical recording contracts, the instant gratification of dollars earned as a waitress or bartender or stripper, the mind-numbing opiate effects of the X-box and the myriad other things that derail people from becoming life-long learners. Or, perhaps, a different way to think is that these folks are life-long learners, they are just learning the “wrong” things, things I don’t value, like how to play Halo online.
So, I hereby resolve that I will not repeat my broken record of a rant again. It’s a drain and I don’t want to give it any more energy than I have. I run the grave risk of creating a self-fulfilling prophecy by reiterating it. I’m searching for a new frame so if anyone has any suggestions, I’m open to listening.
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