The college up here on the mountain has been in business since the 70's. I hate to say it but it is the only option for those who live on the mountain if they want to have the actual community college experience. Not that I think it's all bad, but like so many other places on this mountain, they have the mentality that seems to run rampant through this mountain. The whole idea that we are the only ones up here and if you don't like it, tough, where else are you going to go? I don't like that it happens up here as much as it does, but, at this point I am unsure how to continue.
I have seen a lot of people who, in their efforts to give a professional courtesy, they seem to not be objective and fail to actually help when they can because of some unwritten code that they are bound to. I know that if there were only upstanding good moral officers in our communities, there would be no need to have internal affairs. Yet, we need these people in these offices not because people are bad, but because they are people. They see an opportunity and they take it. They seize what they can to make themselves better off. No, this does not make them bad, it just means they are people.
Recently, I have, sadly had to encounter this at our local college with a teacher and an academic advisor. Let me explain. Kelsie took three classes with the college to go with her schooling for high school. I was proud of her. She worked her butt off doing research and getting as much as done as she did. She was on it. For her English 101 class, she had to do a research paper, as all have to do one for this class. She had me proof read it and we went over all of the things that the teacher had suggested she do. She had all the in-text citations, all of the information everything and turned it in. Her teacher refused to grade the paper. At first it was because she didn't use the correct format, saying it wasn't in MLA 2009 format. Then, after we talked to her about it, she said that it was because there was no works cited page. After that, she said that it was because she doesn't give partial credit. Wow, make up your mind will you!!!
We contested this of course, which was to start with, asking the teacher to reconsider her decision to not grade the paper. She said no. The next step was to go to an academic advisor and have them mediate this so both parties can come to a mutual decision. The advisor looked at what was done and tried to help... for about 10 minutes, then, deferred to professional courtesy and we were told that the teacher will not budge and we have to take it to the next step. At this point, we, Kelsie, Thomas and I, had been looking and looking for the rubric for the paper, so I know how it is to be graded. For almost two weeks we go back and forth on it, and finally, there is to be a meeting between all parties and the Dean. They go in, Thomas and Kelsie, I had to work, and from the moment they walked in, they were never going to change their minds. They simply thought that no matter what, this teacher was correct and nothing was going to change their minds. Obviously, we lost the case and while there was the option to go further, Kelsie decided to not take it further.
We all make mistakes when first learning about life. We all make mistakes when learning about school. What made me so angry was not that they refused to change their minds, it was that it she wasn't teaching in the first place. If you tell me that I have to do something a certain way, I will do my best to follow it, to the best of my abilities, especially when my high school graduation is riding on it. But if you tell me that I just need to go look it up and forget that when we have students who are trying to find their ways by doing concurrent schooling, that these young people may need a bit of extra help, because, let's face it, they are young, that's where we have a failure on our part. There are moments when Kelsie would say something to me and I almost made a smart ass comment, but, I stopped and remembered that she's just a kid, and she's still learning and I need to be mindful of her being young. Doesn't mean that I think she should be treated any differently, but, if I see that she may be needing help, then at least offer it to her.
I read the emails that this teacher had back and forth with her... I was appalled by this woman's blatant disregard for anyone who didn't understand what was going on. She wasn't trying to be a smartass when asking questions, she just didn't get something and to be treated so poorly someone who called themselves an educator, was simply unacceptable, in every way.
Perhaps we should get back to the whole idea that these kids are just that, kids. They are there willingly (obviously, otherwise they wouldn't be paying for it) and they want to learn. Let's make it a point, nay, our job, to help these kids learn what they are there to learn and understand. Did we learn something from this, yes we did. Did we get a better understanding of the proper format for a research paper, I would have to say yes to that as well. Did we learn that professional courtesy is alive and well and not always for the benefit of the non-professional, oh yeah! It made me sick to my stomach to see what happened. I was so angry with this woman for being a rude bitch most of the time. I was mostly disappointed that once again, in our little town, if you're the only kind of your business, then it doesn't matter how bad the service is. They are the only one, so where else will you go?
I have since learned that not all teachers are like that, duh! But how can you spot them on a piece of paper when signing up for classes? How do you know that the person you are trusting to teach you whatever, isn't going to say, go look it up and just leave you to your own devices? I'm all for online classes, but, I am still of the mindset that seeing a person face to face in a classroom, for me at least, is the best and easiest way to do it. How else can I stay after class and ask questions? I don't know... maybe I'm old fashioned like that... anyhow, later kids... Peace
No comments:
Post a Comment