Bailing Out
Should I feel bad about bailing on the class for which I originally signed on?
In this day and age, students can pick the instructor they want, at least at our institution. There are so many of the same classes offered, the student just looks up who the instructor is and tries to fit the class into his or her own schedule. I've heard from several students that they chose to take the class with me because I'm fair. Awesome. That is what I aim to be. I might be your friend, eventually, but I only make sure that I'll treat everyone the same and do my best to get the students to learn.
So should I feel bad that, after telling them I'd no longer be teaching the class, that at least four students have dropped?
I'd like to think that the class is more rigorous than they thought; that A & P is too much to handle at 8 am; that these students had no idea that coming in without any Biology background at all would be detrimental to their cause. That's probably why four out of 19 students have withdrawn.
At least that is what I'll tell myself. I know if I had planned on taking a course with one instructor and then learned that a 2nd unknown instructor was taking over, I'd feel a little bit burned. But that's life, and college students need to learn to adapt. If they can figure out the latest Smartphone gadget within seconds of grabbing it, they can learn to live without a lowly adjunct instructor.
In this day and age, students can pick the instructor they want, at least at our institution. There are so many of the same classes offered, the student just looks up who the instructor is and tries to fit the class into his or her own schedule. I've heard from several students that they chose to take the class with me because I'm fair. Awesome. That is what I aim to be. I might be your friend, eventually, but I only make sure that I'll treat everyone the same and do my best to get the students to learn.
So should I feel bad that, after telling them I'd no longer be teaching the class, that at least four students have dropped?
I'd like to think that the class is more rigorous than they thought; that A & P is too much to handle at 8 am; that these students had no idea that coming in without any Biology background at all would be detrimental to their cause. That's probably why four out of 19 students have withdrawn.
At least that is what I'll tell myself. I know if I had planned on taking a course with one instructor and then learned that a 2nd unknown instructor was taking over, I'd feel a little bit burned. But that's life, and college students need to learn to adapt. If they can figure out the latest Smartphone gadget within seconds of grabbing it, they can learn to live without a lowly adjunct instructor.
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