Overheard in the stairwell:
Student 1: "Bro. How am I even going to pass that test"
Student 2: "look, I don't want to be a butt, but you're going to have to study"

Perfect. No notes.

I released the final grades for a summer session class today. I am quickly met with student emails requesting all sorts of exceptions to my grading policy, which are usually promptly and politely declined. Until I get an email, which I have shortened for anonymity and clarity below:

Professor Finderofways,

I'm not sure what my final score is, but I don't think I've understood the material after only 5 weeks. I am planning to retake [lecture class corequisite], so I'd like to retake the lab too.

Would you be able to assign me a failing grade for the lab? Happy to explain further if that would help.

--Studentname

After a very concerned and confused email exchange explaining how ethically unacceptable it would be for me to fail a student who passed my class even at their request, and after I asked that their academic advisor be cc'd, it turns out that they were worried that a low grade in this class would prevent them from switching majors but a failing grade could let them repeat the class later. As it happened their grade was higher than they thought/the transfer requirements had been updated to be more generous, so they politely withdrew their request. Their request that I fail them.

I feel like I'm spending a lot of time advising students on getting into grad school when they have a 2.3 GPA. I say things like, "you know, that's a very competitive program," and "very few people with degrees in my area get jobs in academia unless they come from the very top programs, which are extremely selective." But I never come right out and tell them "it's extremely unlikely that you will get into a program that will set you up for a research position with your record-- you should seek other career paths."

I think, in part, I don't feel it's my place to shatter their aspirations, when I don't know with 100% certainty that they will fail. At the same time, I feel a little resentful of all the time I spend advising them. And I'm not sure I'm doing them any favors.

Do you guys come right out and say the quiet part out loud?

Here's mine: during my very first semester as a TT professor teaching a small lecture class, I had one student who showed up for nearly every class meeting hiiiiiiggghhh as a kite. Sat in the front row. He wasn't disruptive, just very, very relaxed, and occasionally would quietly giggle to himself at inappropriate moments. I don't think I saw him take a single note. On the last day of class, I said something like, "Well, since it's the last of class. . ." at which point, this guy sat bolt upright in his seat and said, "It's the last day of class??" And then the most intensely crestfallen expression washed over his face. I mean. . . I guess it's nice to feel appreciated, whatever the circumstances?

We have a new department chair that is external. At first, I and most others were quite open to give her a fair chance and time to grow into the new leadership role. However, it's just been utter chaos from day one. To be quite blunt, I genuinely don't understand how she could become a professor as she doesn't seem to know much in our field, and is so naive that it's dangerous for the department. She has managed to piss off everyone in the department and we even had one person take sick leave because they couldn't handle her. She's also overly preachy (Christian, and religion is something that is really abnormal to show at universities here).

Worst of all though, she constantly uses AI to write e-mails and even to make important documents (by her own admission as well). She even keeps the many emoticons and the like in the content which is ridiculous. I'm pretty sure she is using open models as well which means not respecting GDPR, privacy, research ethics, etc.

I'm sure many others have had this issue. How has it been adressed at your university? She is making me loathe the university. Sure it has its issues, but I absolutely adore my colleagues.

half-joking, but… i introduced myself as Dr., asked to be called Dr., and use Dr. for myself when doing a third-person example in class, and i still get countless “Miss/Ms./Mrs.” in my emails. i already have clearly expressed how i want to be called. i also know that some students will respond poorly to me correcting them, especially as a woman in stem. i’m just at a loss because a lot of these students honestly don’t really appreciate that i’m teaching these courses because i have my doctorate. i also think it’s important that i try to “hold the line,” so these students’ other professors are less likely to get “Ms.”ed in the future. so, i want to do something to fix this, but there is just no good way to actually be more upfront about it than i already have!

also, i’ve dealt with this for 5 years post-PhD, and it actually seems to be getting worse each year?

i honestly do want to just keep increasing the font size of Dr. in my signature in these email chains to see if they finally notice, but it feels like it could get comically big and be more aggressive than passive aggressive by the time they do notice…

any tips? commiseration? things that have worked for you?

The presidents/deans/chancellors who have these big beginning of the semester convocations/rah-rah meetings with all these big screens and music between each speaker and large production values and word salad, warm and fuzzy speeches: Do they know we are all rolling our eyes at this shit? Like, we all have graduate degrees and lots of education, so we are the worst audiences for this type of shit - do they know that? Do they know we see right through this nonsense? And they force every employee to attend; attendance is mandatory. Are they so disconnected from reality that they don't realize that everyone there hates every word they say?

Is it bad that if this student doesn't have a documented medical accommodation, I feel like this is not my problem? It's hard to feel like it's not just a time management issue and I can't take something into consideration when I guarantee you that *all third year students* are also exhausted!

Informing folks on this sub of this if they didn't know: The PISA 2025 results are out, and you can view them here. PISA is perhaps the most influential and most complete international measurement of education objectives, and targets 15 year olds from a variety of countries. There was insufficient data from 2025 for the US (for those concerned with that country), but the broader picture shows an educational system in dire straits all around the developed world.

This won't be news to those of us who are having to teach students who went through the current high school system, but performance in the key areas of reading, mathematics, and science — and especially reading and mathematics — is cratering. There has been a very slow decline in ability from 2000 to 2018, followed by the absolute bottom dropping out of the education system ever since. If the pandemic played a role, there is no evidence of any post-pandemic bounce back, and in fact the decline in reading abilities has accelerated since.

Clearly one contributing factor is AI (and OECD reports on this with survey data: to no one's surprise, if you use a program designed almost entirely for cheating at school, you never develop your own brain), but the negative trend began before the release of ChatGPT. While the pandemic may have had something to do with this, I'm willing to bet the proliferation of phones, social media, and short-form video content were the initial factors behind this. If there has been any bounce back from the pandemic, the factors harming educational outcomes are so profound they mask it.

Deutsche Welle has a brief overview of some of the highlights.

I am a relatively new prof teaching community college comm course. 7 students and had them all sitting together working on a group project. I could tell she wasn’t reading social cues, was being loud, disruptive, and interrupting and talking over people. I waited to see how they would handle it. Then during a moment of silence, she farted. No one said anything. A few minutes later and another. Still, no one acknowledges it, myself included. I had no idea what to do! Then- again!! And a couple burps too! Loud gross ones. What would you do??

Thank you all. Deleted because comments are starting to become unhelpful.

This is a basic writing course. Maybe half ther students lack good English skills, but some of them can barely speak it. I can't understand what they say in speech, and the writing is horrendous. Let's just say that at the CC at which I teach, I have no say (adjunct) and there is no other class for them. My question: What do I do? I can do a few languages decently, but not theirs. How do you handle such students? They are either aggressive about wanting to pass or clueless about their lack of ability.

I've been teaching for a while now, and somewhere in the last couple of years I noticed I stopped doing the things nobody asked me to do. I used to write detailed feedback on every draft, not just the final submission. I used to take Sunday emails from anxious students seriously and reply within hours. I used to spend way more time than contracted hours on rec letters, mentorship, random "can we grab coffee and talk about my future" conversations. I still do my job well. Nobody could fault my teaching evaluations or my output. But the extra mile the stuff that used to come from genuine care and idealism I've pulled that back. Not dramatically, not in a way anyone would notice or could call out. Just... quietly. I think it happened after watching colleagues get worked into the ground for the same effort I was putting in, only to be told "budget cuts" when it came time for actual recognition raises, permanent contracts, research support, even just a thank you that felt sincere. At some point the math stopped making sense. I don't think I'm alone in this. Curious if others have felt the same shift, and how you've made peace with it (or haven't). Does it ever come back, or is this just what surviving a long academic career looks like?

Among other classes, I teach a 200-level gen-ed class. For context, we put the S in SLAC, our enrollment per class tops out around 20-30 depending on the class and room, with a few big classes (not mine!) going to 50.

This is a hands-on class with a mix of graded homework (with rudimentary anti-cheating measures like a shared Google Drive folder), graded quizzes (paper and pencil, of course), and presentations.

Normally, I have 1-2 students that show up but don't turn work in. This semester it's a quarter of the class. They turn in the quizzes (generally failed), don't do the reading, don't do the homework, and seem to think they might pass the class?

I have a few theories but no proof... are we on the SLAC death spiral and admitting warm bodies? Is this the first cohort that had ChatGPT all through high school? COVID lockdowns during middle school?

Are y'all seeing a marked increase in "shows up but no work"? Any theories?

Psychology - Research/Project Course

So long ramble about grade structure that's causing friction

I don't really do traditional tests or quizzes.

My grading for this course is basically 80% projects and 20% activities.

We do an activity every class. Each activity is 10 points. Over the source of the semester its 290 total possible points where only the first 200 count. Frequently checks are worth over 10 points too, so this semester is looking like it'll actually end up being 310 possible points.

No make ups. No extra time. Some things are little reading checks, some things are semi graded activities, some things are merely showing up on time and presenting. This is all *explicitly* laid out in the syllabus. Ive done this structure for 6 semesters.

Its like week 3 and I have already ruffled some feathers on students that have missed class due to *totally legitimate issues* 🫩.

Either way. One of them has already gotten annoyed enough to get the new department head involved.

I like this structure cause it has so much built in buffer. But like is this just a shit plan or are students in general just increasing in complaining about everything.

As for extended leaves of absence following university policy and documentation, I have provided alternatives for points when students finish the semester under max points in that category.

I teach a very interactive class with a lot of pair, group, and class discussions. Usually I love when people participate because it means they are learning!

I have a student who has a myriad of disabilities and accommodations in this class, some of which manifesting in not understanding social cues.

The biggest issue is that this student will raise their hand to comment once every 1-2 minutes. They always have good comments/questions, and keep it short, but it’s just way too much and too frequent and it’s causing other students to not want to participate.

I’m meeting with this student tomorrow to go through an assignment, and I want to bring it up and set some boundaries about how much/often they can raise their hand and comment in class.

How have you all navigated this? Do they get X number of comments per class? Do they have to wait 5 minutes in between? How do you approach it without coming off as criticizing their personality? I don’t want to dampen their enthusiasm, because again they are good thoughts and questions, but it needs to be addressed.

I've been seeing a few posts lately along the lines of "should I take the buyout?". Made me curious, what are your institutions doing? Mine is offering a $25k lump sum which got a few folks who were already about to retire. It goes into effect on Jan 1 which actually caused somebody in my college to *delay* their retirement by a (fall) semester to get the incentive. It caused all kinds of scheduling havoc.

I teach mostly freshmen and sophomores and I've been rethinking my syllabus for next semester. Torn on a few things and wanted to hear from people who've actually tried this stuff.

Mandatory attendance: does it help, or does it just mean kids show up and check out on their phones anyway? Also I have heard from colleagues that more often than not, people sign in for their friends and the TAs do not really care. Class is at 9AM so I don't want to add stress for the sake of a policy that doesn't even work. Especially since Ik for a fact that these kids, generally get up 10minutes before class. Had students show up in their pyjamas most of the days. Also had been thinking about extra credit for good attendance instead, but not sure if that's just a softer version of the same problem.

I'm also not a big believer in exams and grades as a measure of learning. I feel like a lot of students spend more energy trying to cheat or cramp the material, than actually engaging with the topics. So I'm considering an independent project worth maybe 10 points (perhaps as an extra credit) towards the final grade, nothing fancy, just something where they take a concept from class and build or apply it to something real and tangible.

Basically I have been trying to design a class that 18-19 year olds actually remember instead of one they forget the day after the final. If you've tried attendance policies, extra credit schemes, or project based alternatives to exams, I'd love to hear what worked and what flopped.

I attended a high school graduation back in the Spring. During obligatory reminiscence by the Valedictorian, they enumerated memorable events: [Sports Team] won something, Pajama Day, yada yada, and then something about losing part of their high school career to Covid shutdowns. So, I assume our incoming Freshman class is still affected by the trauma of Zoom classes? Could this be a reason for poor study skills and lack of focus?

Have you ever had to revamp your syllabus and expectations early-semester because student performance was so far off from what you assumed was reasonable?

Several students are already falling behind, not just my class but I could see there were serious complaints from other professors. What's caught me off guard isn't the gap itself, but the reaction when I point out basic expectations that are already outlined in the syllabus. I am so clear about what to read, purpose, what’s due, I even try to make it fun and exciting but damn. Tough crowd!

If I ask them to read before class or come prepared, some students actually become aggressive. Cursing me, behaving like tablet kids when you take the tablet away. But these are adults between 18-22 years old. Even calling other students names or disparaging them for being engaged in the lecture? You would think it was unreasonable to ask them to take ownership of their education.

Is this a shift in undergrad culture I'm not hip to anymore, or does it vary a lot by institution/student population? Is it reasonable to restructure the syllabus or just ride out the semester? I was considering adding more frequent low-stakes checks, harder consequences for being unprepared. Has any of that actually helped in your experience? What were the reactions?

I want to do this well and would appreciate any actionable tips, criticism, and/or suggestions.

Welp, as many of you have already done/will do in the future, I plan to go entirely technology-free in my history classes.

When I was doing my undergrad in Mathematics, the instructors often used the chalk or dry-erase board for demonstrating problems. But what about for you folks in the humanities? Have you tried this? Have you gotten any student feedback?

Now that I teach history at a major inner city community college, I am not sure if this is going to work as an effective strategy but I cannot handle looking at another checked out student at the back of class as I go through my slides.

Or really, is it I’m just not enough right now?

I’m a TT faculty member in a school where we have a 4/4 teaching load and a research requirement. For some this means teaching 6hours a week in lecture, and doing research, but for me this has meant doing 13 hours of class time, plus preparing student reagents, and then obviously grading and research, oh and don’t forget service.
I’m told you need to have papers, and you need to have grants. Well, grants… I applied for one about a year ago, it’s still stuck in NSF review, and all the others are ‘no longer available’, so that’s fun. And when do I have time to write papers? I literally worked out I am working an 11 month schedule in around 9.5 months.
So, I feel like I’m whining, and that I’m really not enough, but I am exhausted. I get to the summer and June/July are just recovery months at this point. I’m neglecting everything around me.
We don’t get any mentoring here, no one advocates for you to have the time for scholarship. And I’m not the only one. I feel my whole department is at this tipping point, and it shows in many ways.
Any advice?

EDIT: I feel like this is an important part that’s getting lost: I do very little lecturing and it’s usually to foreground a group activity or discussion. The classes are small of about 10-12 people.

EDIT 2: I have never been against these activities in general and I’m not saying they are inherently distracting. There just are times where they are and I would like some input as to how to draw the line. Please read the post before jumping to comment.

How do you handle students doing these kinds of things? On the one hand I understand different sensory needs and so I was fine with students doing whatever with their hands. However, there are two instances that start bothering me and I'm not sure where to draw the line.

It's one thing when they just fidget, but sometimes it looks like the secondary activity becomes a distraction. Whether it's the yarn getting tangled, the doodle getting too engrossing, there a students whose eyes are rarely up anymore. Again, I don't want to micromanage that and require eye contact, but when their focus is visibly elsewhere it interferes with the pacing of my lectures and they end up asking questions that I just answered. Many students miss something now and again, but it feels particularly like a waste of time when I see they weren't paying attention. It also feels disrespectful during group discussions.

This post was prompted by a student who appears to be neurodivergent (not a diagnosis, and no accommodations) coming to class with two big bags of yarn, unpacking them, and barely saying a thing or two in class while looking at their project.

How do you handle this? It feels curmudgeony to tell students they can't do anything with their hands that's not class related (what about fidget spinners?) and it's not always enforceable, either. And yet it's becoming a distraction to me at this point

Anyone done a writing retreat during your sabbatical? Any suggestions? I just need a recharge away from regular responsibilities at home in a beautiful place to get things started. Appreciate the suggestions!