hilarious student excuse of the day:

Upon being busted for surfing the internet during class (in a computer lab).
Me: I mark people absent for using the internet or text-messaging during class, like you on facebook today!
Student: I was NOT on facebook!
Me: I saw you.
Student: That was Myspace!

Nice. To both of you.

My favorites were always the "I don't know what to do" "Did you read the instructions?" "No." exchanges.

The grade is always it's own natural consequence. If you pass my test after texting all class, then you didn't need to come to class. Unfortunately, I teach 8th graders who are required to be there by law.

I totally understand what this kid was saying. She wasn't saying she was right, she was just saying you were wrong, and as a young student that's really all you want to prove to your teacher.

I feel old! Back in my day, we couldn't text-message during class...we passed PUNCH CARDS to each other.

Folks, I teach COLLEGE.

Why does your class have attendance? That does seem a bit strange for college...

redbecca, please tell me you don't have an evil absence policy where they are only allowed ONE absence, excused or not. Because that's impractical and ridiculous.

My first semester of teaching, I said, "we're all adults here, if you don't want to come to class, that's your decision. I'll take attendance every day (purely for statistical purposes), but absences will not be counted against you."

never again.

What I didn't realize was that several of those "adults" sitting in chairs felt that they didn't have to come to class, but that I was still obligated to give them the information they missed while they slept in until noon every other class period.

As far as colleges with impractical attendance policies, I have this much to say:

I've dealt with it. If you missed 10 hours of a class at the art institute for ANY reason (with the rare (but sometimes still ignored) exception of chronic personal illness), you failed. While it seemed retarded, the fact of the matter is that a lot of colleges need to have that kind of policy in place to allow their students eligibility for financial aid and student loans.

If a school can't convince the state and/or lenders that they have the curriculum and standards to get students jobs after graduation, then no bank will front the money for loans they know are going to default. Nearly every private university has this kind of dilemma.

When I taught a laptop-based introductory engineering computing class, we'd snoop their IM conversations and comment on their conversations during lecture.

Even funnier was when a friend of mine (also a TA) set up one system with a full-screen VNC session on another system, and the two students on opposite sides of the room were fighting over the cursor. Of course, those kids didn't do anything to deserve it, except take a class with a TA who liked to mess with people.

It's pretty easy if they're using unencrypted wireless, using something like airsnort. It's more difficult with encrypted or wired connections.