VENT – I am so frustrated with myself. Today N. raised some questions about the attendance policy. He made some good points and handled it appropriately. I expressed interest in his perspective but was disoriented and disorienting in my response. Attendance is a vexing topic for me, one that I have spent an immense amount of time and energy thinking about. I believe I have some original ideas about it but today I drifted around with some blah, blah rationalizations. I could have/should have seized the moment. Instead I lost my way. Here are some things I should have said.
1) I care deeply about what I do. It is important to me to do things well. I care about the students I work for. I care that they find the course as meaningful and valuable to them, that they learn everyday. I care if they come to class. I respect their right not to care - not to care about the course in general and specifically about coming to class. That’s their right. However, they cannot expect me not to care. It matters to me if they are in class or not. To pretend it doesn’t matter, for me, is to say that they do not matter. I do not accept this attitude.
2) That students matter to me (that they learn, that they grow, that they become an educated person, a more fully realized human being) does not impinge upon their autonomy or independence. They can choose not to take the course. That’s fine (there are always others who would seek to take their place). However, they need to understand that taking a course from me will require a level of commitment that may not be comfortable or desirable for them. I don’t do things half-way and expect the same of the people I work with. At Landmark I expect to be teaching adults, not adolescents. This means individuals who accept personal responsibility for themselves.
3) I hold my self to high standards, and hold students to high standards. This can be imposing and challenging. In my mind, every absence counts. The general administrative attendance policy of two weeks of allowable absences is handholding. The real world, the professional world, does not work this way. It is delusional to think that a certain amount of absences – pick a number – is okay but then after that the rest are not okay. All absences make a difference. To me, to the student, to the class as a whole.
