The things that get rewarded get done. -- Michael LeBoeuf
At the beginning of the 4th quarter over 200 students were held from classes because they were behind in their tuition payments. As I wrote then, the administration had taken a hard line against the deadbeat parents who refused to pay the school until we forced them to. Everyone was worried that the same thing would happen at final exam time, creating chaos and a wealth of bad publicity for the school. The list of students who were behind in tuition and would be held from exams totaled 36 when emailed to the staff over the weekend. That list had shrunk to 8 by the end of the first day of exams, and 2 by the morning of the second exam day. Apparently, bad economy notwithstanding, parents got the message. The small list of students left represents those who really are in need, and the school can handle them as compassionately as possible. Of my 142 students only one is on the list.
A few weeks ago students received their tentative class schedules for next year. Most teachers viewed this as an indication of enrollment expectations for 2009-2010. Of my 24 homeroom students only one did not receive a schedule, meaning that 96% had registered and paid their fees. It still appears that we may lose 100 or more students over the summer, but not the 400-500 predicted by the most pessimistic a few months ago.
After reading my last post (Every blade of grass…) my friend in the Theology Department emailed me with a much more negative assessment of her students. Her assessment of the situation is that our student population is becoming more and more lazy and uninterested in working. In other words, we are no longer attracting the best and brightest. While I see her point I would tend to disagree.
Compared to the students I taught 30 years ago my present group is far more intelligent and much better prepared than ever before. The difference is not in their ability, but rather their work ethic. I am not trying to suggest that they are lazy, only motivated differently. If it is really true that what gets rewarded gets done, then what the modern student views as “reward” has changed.
Twenty years ago it would not be unusual for me to fail 7 or 8 students each semester, as well as give another 10-12 D’s. This semester I will fail only one student (unless she studies and passes the final) and have only three students who are in danger of getting D’s. On the other hand, A’s are much more difficult to earn. Twenty years ago, if you received a B in honors chemistry you probably were a slacker; not so now.
Others grumble about the shrinking number of honors and AP students. In reality the numbers are not shrinking in every department. Just look at the significant number of students advanced in math compared to 10 years ago. The first year I taught AP Chemistry I had 15 students; next year’s group numbers 40. When I first began teaching Chemistry 25 years ago there were fewer than 50 honors students; next year there are close to 80, and that is with much more stringent requirements than before. The work the honors chemistry students do now is much more intense and in depth than it was 20 years ago. Some of the students that my colleagues wish we still had could never hope to handle the material today’s student masters with ease.
In the past, hard work was rewarded with good grades. Good grades could be achieved by memorization and practice. Presently, much more that just hard work is necessary to get the grades that motivated so effectively before. Is it any surprise that evidence of hard work is so difficult to find in the modern student?
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