Rewarding Mediocrity

This week was the dreaded "final exam" week.  I didn't have much time to dedicate to blogging because I had to proctor final exams, correct them, and then issue final grades.  I also had to clean out my old office this semester because I will be working for another college...a decision that still frightens me a little because while the pay is better, this new part-time position brings a lot of uncertainty.  (I see another post in my future.)

Teaching was a challenge for me this semester.  I had a group of eighteen-year olds that, in a lot of ways, fit the stereotype we have of teenagers these days--you know...entitled, unmotivated, self-absorbed, and totally dispassionate.  Dr. Phil has been talking about this "new entitled generation" for quite some time, but it didn't really hit me until I had them in my class. 

This semester, my goal was to instill enthusiasm and passion.  I let my students, for the most part, pick their own topics in the hope that they would find something to get "fired-up" about.  I wanted them to question the government, the media, pop-culture, and their ethics.  I wanted them to think critically about the world around them and think of possible solutions to problems.  I wanted them to learn that nothing really great in life is ever accomplished without passion and motivation.  And yet...I feel like I failed miserably.

As I started tallying up the grades for my students, one truth became apparently clear--I was rewarding mediocrity.  You see, none of my students "pushed the bar" this semester.  Yes, I did have students that completed all their assignments, but none of my students showed a real interest in the class.  While I gave them pointers on how to be good speakers, how to create successful PowerPoint presentations, and even how to research information and cite their sources, none of my students pushed themselves to learn something new.  They also didn't push themselves to do a lot of research or to try to memorize their speeches.  At best, I was giving "A's" and "B's" to students who really only prepared their speeches the night before class.  In reality, they probably deserved "C's", but since every class needs to have a spectrum of grades ranging from A to F, I had to "reward" the students who at least did the assignment.

The phenomena I'm talking about is "grade inflation."  Every college I know these days have debates about it, and yet, none have come up with a real solution to remedy the problem.  My guess is that the "grade inflation" starts in earlier grades like elementary school and then moves on from there.  When students reach college, they have learned that they can get "A's" and "B's" by doing the bear minimum.   Therefore, they set the bar low for themselves and do very little.  

In the past (even as recent as ten years ago when I first started teaching), these students who did the bear minimum received "C's."  "A's" were only reserved for the students who went above and beyond the expectations of the class.  They were given to students who showed outstanding achievement by demonstrating their very best efforts.

Now I sit in front of my list of grades and get discouraged with the system.  In reality, only one or two of my students put sincere effort into my class this semester.  Most may have done some work, but I question whether the work they did really helped them learn anything new.  Will they be leaving my class with a new skill in persuasive speaking and reasoning that they didn't have before?  Probably not.  

All classes must have their ranges of "A's" to "F's".  If I don't issue any "A's" or only one "A", my teaching gets criticized, and I become a  prime target for grade disputes.  Since colleges are now a "business," they want to keep their students (customers) happy.  Even losing one student can cost the college anywhere from $10,000 to $60,000, and since they want to keep this money in their pocket, they will sometimes "encourage" the professor to reissue a grade or to give the student "another chance."   Plus, if we receive too many bad evaluations for being "too hard" on students or have too many grade disputes, our employment is in jeopardy.

Our system has created this mess.  In a lot of ways, we are a culture of complainers.  If we don't get things our way, we threaten people or places with lawsuits or negative publicity.  Parents sometimes do this to see their children do better in school  or extra-curricular activities.  After all, they want to see their child get an "A"  or receive a "trophy" too, even if it isn't deserved.  In fact, I had one student this semester that was completely reliant on his mom.  If he was going to be absent, she called in for him, and if he needed an extension on his assignment, she'd ask me to let him do it a week later.  Yes, she wanted her child, in essence, to be rewarded even though he showed no responsibility or initiative of his own.

Education is a tricky business.  Grades don't have the same meaning that they once did, and while the number of "A's" are going up, the quality of learning is depreciating.  Yes, at times, there are teachers/professors that are unfair, and for them, it's appropriate to question their methods for teaching and evaluating their students' performance.  Still, a number of us are trying to do our best by teaching the skills that are needed in today's society, and yet, sadly, we are bullied into rewarding mediocrity... 

Teaching Enthusiasm

My poor class.  I really don't enjoy making an example of them, but they are really teaching me a lot this year.  A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about Teaching Kindness.  In this post, I talked about the lack of respect my first year college students seemed to have for me and others in general.   Most of this disrespect, I believe, comes from a general attitude of not caring--not caring about others but not caring about anything.

It's been hard to create a spark, to create an energy, to create an excitement in my classroom.  Oh yes, as a trained professional, I've been taught that I need to cater to all different learning styles--auditory, visual, verbal, social, interpersonal, kinesthetic, etc.  As a result, I use podcasts, YouTube videos, PowerPoint presentations, writing lessons, meditation, role playing, exercise, music, everything and anything to get my students interested.  Heck, I'd even get up in front of the class and perform a tap dance if it would get their attention and dare I say, make them crack a smile.

I don't like to stereotype or make assumptions, so of course, not every eighteen/nineteen year old falls into this category, but I do sense a growing trend.  I understand that teenagers have hormones--their number one priority at this age, oh how I hate to say this, is getting laid.  (Lil' Lewie you are barred from reading this post ever!)  If not getting laid, then their goal is to increase the prospects of getting into a relationship with this emotional/physical intimacy.  These students also seek companionship and acceptance from relationships with their peers, etc.  I get it.  I don't think I'm that old of a fossil yet, even though my students would probably think differently.

Still, while I realize that school and learning may not necessarily be the priority here, I'd like to see them take an interest in something SOMETHING.  After all, school equals their future.  It equals what they may end up doing for the rest of their life. 

In my communications class, we talk about mass communication and stereotypes.  We talk about cultural and gender differences in communication.  We talk about effective listening strategies.  We talk about critical listening, evaluating speaker credentials, and evaluating the content of speeches (particularly persuasive speeches).  And, finally, we practice giving our own presentations both with using visual aids like PowerPoints and video and without visual aids.

To me, this is exciting stuff.  Not everyone enjoys going up in front of the class and speaking, but we do lots of exercises to learn how we can be better at communicating and listening.  At one point, I had my students watch a debate between the two candidates running for State Senate.  "Are any of you going to vote on November 2?" I asked.  The class became so quiet I could hear a pin drop.  "Are you guys registered to vote?"  Nope, not a single student raised their hand.  "What's the difference between a Democrat and a Republican?" one brave student asked.  Being as neutral as possible, I tried to explain the differences between liberal views and conservative views when the same student who asked the question said, "That's okay, Miss.  I wan't really that interested."  Another student piped in, "We don't need to know this for the midterm do we?"

Ugh!  Where's the interest?  Where's the enthusiasm?  Where's the desire to learn about the world, humanity, the arts, history, or even about our own country and government?  I realize not all college campuses are like this--college students, historically, have been the ones fired up to promote change and to form rallies to demonstrate their views and ideals.  Still, my bunch probably wouldn't even move from their seats if a fire was reported in the building.  "What, do we like have to go outside?" would be a question from at least one of my students.  "This sucks," would be the response from another student.  I hear these comments all day long...Yes, the "Do we have to do this?" to "This sucks."

Everything I learn in the classroom relates back to my little guy at home.  I look at him and see an outpour of enthusiasm for life.  Everything he does shows passion.  If he gets to do something he enjoys, he's wildly excited about it, and if it's something he dislikes, he's equally passionate.  He wants to learn how to say things and how to do things by himself.  He wants to learn about how to become a big boy (a.k.a. his future) and gets upset with me if I stunt the process by saying, "No, you can't do that yet.  Not until you're older" as I take the knife out of his hand.

I wonder...when does this enthusiasm for life turn into a "this sucks" mentality?  Is this a natural progression that happens to most teenagers or is this an attitude that's somehow passed down from parent to child?  Or, finally, is this "I don't care about anything" mentality a product of children that are given too much and no responsibility? 

I don't have the answers.  Oh, how I wish I did.  All I can say is that my goal is to build a love for learning with my little guy.  I want him to be excited about exploring and researching.  I want him to be passionate about his opinions, and I want him to care, deeply, about his actions and how he treats others.  I have my mission.  Do you have one too?

Teaching Kindness

This generation of students worries me.  For the past ten years, I've been teaching first-year college students, and as each year goes by, I receive less and less respect from them.  Still, this year by far has been the worst--a total breakdown of respect and lack for authority.

I used to shrug this behavior off, but now that I am a mom, I worry.  I worry about this new "culture" that is arising and how my son will be affected by it.  For those of you who are still uncertain as to what I am talking about, let me explain.

When I went to college (in the 90's), we treated our professors with respect.  We didn't dare speak or talk over them while they were talking, we never talked back, and we never, ever, ever, dared to cross the line and suggest that an assignment was STUPID.  They had authority, and we wanted to do our best by paying attention and learning as much as we could (even if we didn't like every single assignment.)  Sometimes we'd even give our professors gifts at the end of the class to show our appreciation for their help.

Today I deal with a new mindset.  Most (not all) students need constant reminding that they are not to talk, text, listen to music, or play with their cell phones, i-pods, or laptops in class.  Every day, I must constantly remind them that their education comes first and that they are paying top dollar for tuition.  When students miss information because they are too busy gabbing with their friends, they interrupt me and demand that I repeat it for them.

This is just the beginning.  Now students feel they can voice their opinions at any time that they want as well.  If they don't like an assignment, they very forwardly ask, "Why do we have to do this?" and sometimes they make remarks out loud in class like "This assignment's stupid!"  or "I don't understand why we have to do this anyway.  I'm not doing it!"

In some cases, their reactions remind me of my two year old.  However, instead of taking an all out tantrum because they don't have the vocabulary to express themselves, they use their words to attack, be cutting, and show disrespect.

In the long run, their grades resemble the effort they chose or didn't choose to put forth in this class, but there is something about this generation that really, truly concerns me.  That one thing is their lack of kindness. 

A few weeks ago, I asked a student if he wouldn't mind standing up on his chair to turn on the video projector, which was mounted to the ceiling.   He was sitting beneath it, and I couldn't stand up on the chair because I was wearing a dress.  He very pointedly answered, "No.  You do it!"

I looked around the room and asked if someone would volunteer, but everyone remained silent.  This mean student had set the bar as to how everyone else was going to react.  If he wasn't going to help me, then they certainly weren't going to do it either. 

Embarrassed by the situation (and quite honestly shocked), I offered extra credit.  Imagine.  I offered extra credit just so that someone could show some kindness and compassion!  At this point, I finally had a few volunteers, but did I really have to go to this extreme?  Do students today feel like they are not going to help someone else unless they know they'll get something out of it?

I'm disturbed.  I have more to tell (perhaps in another post), but I am worried that the children of Generation Y, for some reason, have not learned about kindness.  They haven't grown out of the two year old mentality that says, "it's all about me."  It makes me sad, and I wonder if this is just a stage that they will grow out of or if this is a larger implication that we may be heading for a "dog eat dog world."

If I can choose one major character trait for my little boy to take with him throughout life, it would be kindness--to treat others the way we wish to be treated, to show love, empathy, and compassion for our fellow neighbors.  I don't expect all my students to pay attention in class.  I don't expect that they like every assignment.  I don't expect that they thank me even though I try to be a sincere, kind, and compassionate mentor for them.  I do, hope, however, that they reconsider their current etiquette and treatment of others.  After all,  love and kindness are truly what makes the world go around.  Without it, does life really have meaning?