I have been a college professor for 20 years now, and in that time I have had a wide range of students. From the 13-year-old to the 84-year-old (I think that was it). Most of my students fall into the age range of 18-25, and there seems to be one that that defines a lot of them: Work done at home isn’t all that important.
Now this is a generalization, but I wasn’t like this in college (or school in general). I always got my work done on time. I didn’t always do it well in advance, but it was always done. This didn’t come from forceful parents that drilled this into me. This came from an understanding of what it meant to do what was asked of me. I didn’t expect to get anything in return unless I turned something in, and therefore I wanted to turn stuff in. It was what was required of me. I find that some students just don’t think this way.
So, what is going on? I don’t know.
I teach some of my classes online and in person (ever since the Covid-19 pandemic closed schools spring break of 2020). I teach in a live online format when teaching online. I do this so I have that regular, personal interaction with all my students. I have always thought this would help keep the students accountable, but I have found that online students are even more likely to turn things in late, or not at all, compared to my in-person students. I think this is a consequence of the less accountability they have to me and to the class being online. Even though I try engaging with them there is less connection than I have in an in-person class. There is only so much I can do while staring at a computer screen.
Why aren’t students turning things in when they are supposed to? I don’t have a good answer. I don’t think I ever will. But here are thoughts:
I think some students are just lazy and think they can skate by. They think that it is ok to do whatever they feel like doing and then earn a grade. And in my classes that means they tend to earn lower grades. But then some complain about that lower grade. What are they expecting? I lay it all out at the beginning of a semester so they know what they will need to do to earn grades.
I think some students over commit themselves and then school ends up being the things that gets the remaining time. I talk to students about this, and they talk of not understanding what the time commitment was going to be, and that with work, school, and play they just don’t have the time. That is why I always lay it out day one how much time my class is going to take them each week. And it is a lot.
Both of the above student groups don’t seem to get it 33% of the time (or more). Yes, I would say that a third of my students tend to not turn things in at all, turn things in partially done, or turn them in late (sometimes still only partially done), and as a result their grades suffer. These students aren’t as successful as I want them to be in my class. When I see potential in some of them, I try to encourage them to do better, but they just don’t want to or can’t for one reason of another.
I know that some students have life hit them hard during a semester and school takes a hit. These are the students that want to do well, but something comes up they have no control over. Their work schedule changes on them sometime during the semester. A very close loved one has a medical emergency (or worse) and they must miss class a few days of class. They lose their job and are worried about how they are going to eat or where they are going to live. These are students that I feel for. As a result, I try to work with them. We try and find way to work through the material, and get things turned in within a reasonable amount of time. But sometimes that just doesn’t work for them.
Then there are the older students that don’t tend to have these problems. They are more focused on school. Even though they tend to have jobs and families as well as school. They see the value in an education, and they know that a good education will take work. These students tend to work harder. It must come from their experience in the working world, and expectations they have had while in that world.
I don’t have a solution. I wish I did. I will continue to encourage my students. I will continue to do my best in the classroom (both in person and online) to be there for them, to answer their question, and to help when I can. I want them all to succeed, but there is something missing from some of them and that discourages me sometimes. I always rise above it, and I move on, but I still try to help them day in and day out. What more can I do?