are you kidding me?
March 04, 2009
Tomorrow I'll give you the scoop on the new house, the old house and moving but, first, from my campus mailbox, a memo:
"To: Faculty
From: Alcohol and Drug Committee (Note from me: this committee does not give out drugs and alcohol, fyi)
Re: St. Patrick's Day
... With the added fact that St. Patrick's Day will fall on a Tuesday the Alcohol and Drug Committee is concerned that issues of absenteeism and high risk drinking may increase as a result.
The AOD Committee would like you to consider what you can do to help in this campus and community wide effort to keep students academically focused. We have no intention of or desire to impinge on academic freedom in the classroom. Our main request is that we encourage our campus community to treat this holiday as any normal academic day
Students and faculty from the committee shared some ideas that they have tried in their classrooms. These are:
* Continue to have your scheduled classes on 3/17.
* Offer extra-points/credit for wearing green.
* Give a coupon to those in attendance to turn in a paper a day late, or remove an absence
* Review for a test by playing a game and offering extra credit points..."
From: Alcohol and Drug Committee (Note from me: this committee does not give out drugs and alcohol, fyi)
Re: St. Patrick's Day
... With the added fact that St. Patrick's Day will fall on a Tuesday the Alcohol and Drug Committee is concerned that issues of absenteeism and high risk drinking may increase as a result.
The AOD Committee would like you to consider what you can do to help in this campus and community wide effort to keep students academically focused. We have no intention of or desire to impinge on academic freedom in the classroom. Our main request is that we encourage our campus community to treat this holiday as any normal academic day
Students and faculty from the committee shared some ideas that they have tried in their classrooms. These are:
* Continue to have your scheduled classes on 3/17.
* Offer extra-points/credit for wearing green.
* Give a coupon to those in attendance to turn in a paper a day late, or remove an absence
* Review for a test by playing a game and offering extra credit points..."
Here's the thing - I am sure they mean well. St. Patrick's Day in the northeast is like Mardi Gras in Louisiana. There is all day drinking, partying, etc. It is a going concern.
However, am I the only one who thinks that rewarding students for something they should do any -- i.e. go to class -- is, to put it politely, misguided? You see that, too, yes?
Maybe I should just go lie down before I start a sentence with "Back in my day, we could get hammered on St. Pat's and still get our work done..."
Additionally, hey, you, kid. Get off of my lawn.
Did they really misspell Faculty?
Posted by: Trish | March 04, 2009 at 02:36 PM
Oh. No. That was me. I'll fix it.
Posted by: Adrienne | March 04, 2009 at 02:49 PM
I find the thought of how Stephen Lyons or Anthony Lobello would react to this memo to be amusing.
I think students should be at least somewhat frightened of their professors.
-D*
Posted by: Dave* | March 04, 2009 at 04:59 PM
You forgot: This is what's wrong with America today!
(It was the first thing I thought.)
Posted by: Anna | March 04, 2009 at 05:03 PM
Exactly, Anna. Look at AIG, Detroit auto execs, Citi Group and on and on until dissolve into babbling puddle of exploded brain stuff.
Posted by: Sil | March 04, 2009 at 05:52 PM
I agree with you that teachers should not have to manufacture reasons to attend class. I especially like the first suggestion, "Continue to have your scheduled classes on 3/17." Really? I never would have thought of that one.
I have a suggestion: saying to your students, "Listen, you had better not even think about skipping classes on Tuesday. You can bloody well wait until after class to get wasted, just like the rest of us."
Especially because it's A TUESDAY. Not a popular drinking day such as Friday, or its red-headed stepchild Thursday. No, it's a TUESDAY -- a day when you have to get really creative to think of excuses to drink heavily.
Posted by: emily | March 04, 2009 at 05:54 PM
Damn, WTF?
And I agree, I'd love to know how Tony LoBello would've reacted to such a memo.
Posted by: PL | March 04, 2009 at 11:45 PM
I never had LoBello, for which I was always grateful. Lyons was one of my favorite profs ever.
I like the suggestion about going ahead and having class, too, emily. I never would have thought of that.
FWIW - I don't really have a dog in the hunt here. My classes are MWF at that school and I have a policy of giving students two "free" absences before a penalty.
I do suspect those who make it on Wednesday will be a little ragged. I plane to be EXTRA LOUD during lecture.
Posted by: Adrienne | March 05, 2009 at 12:19 PM
I am saving all saw work and air compressor duty for hung over students on Wednesday.
Posted by: The Featureless Saint | March 05, 2009 at 12:26 PM
A: I, on the other hand, never had Lyons.
FS: Good plan.
I have no memories of St. P's day from college or grad school. This is eiter very, very good or very, very bad.
Posted by: PL | March 05, 2009 at 03:33 PM
I knew Prof Lobello solely by reputation. And what a reputation it was! I got to shake his hand at our 10 year reunion.
Adrienne, what did you have Prof Lyons for?
-D*
Posted by: Dave* | March 05, 2009 at 10:04 PM
I can't remember what I had Lyons for but do remember that I had him for two classes. We read *The Name of the Rose* in one of them.
Not much help, I know.
I just piddled about and found some of his syllabi online but none of them looked familiar. It's only been, what, 15 years? How dare he change his courses!
I kid.
Posted by: Adrienne | March 06, 2009 at 03:51 PM
I laugh because where my mother-in-law lives in NY (Long Beach) they came up with another Irish holiday/parade in the Fall because basically they couldn't stand only have St. Patrick's Day once a year (well IMO of course).
In the Spring I stagger due dates for papers (seriously how can you stand being an English teacher; I have two short papers and it kills me to grade them) and extra credit and tests to try and get my students to show up and it only barely works!!
Posted by: mamatried | March 10, 2009 at 02:18 PM
Dude -- you're right, that's like giving out lollipops for not robbing the bank.
Posted by: Elizabeth | March 22, 2009 at 12:50 PM
So *that's* why they give out lollipops. I've always wondered.
Posted by: Adrienne | March 22, 2009 at 03:24 PM