It's Wednesday morning, I get to the office at 8:20 am ready for final preparations for my 10:05 am class. Before that I have office hours starting at 9:00 a.m., and many e-mails from students and colleagues to follow up on. As I enter my office, the message light on the phone is blinking. New information on some of the events on campus has come through. While I'm listening to the messages, I catch, out of the corner of my eyes, a student walking towards my office door. I wave him in. I know there's a problem he needs to discuss with me, even though office hours haven't begun.
My student begins to share why he has not turned in some of his written assignments, something I know many professors in Higher Ed face daily. Here the issue is very disheartening; his father had died in a plane crash back in his home country in Africa. Understandably my student is a little preoccupied with this issue the student and I discuss ways for him to complete the course as this issue was not likely to be resolved any time soon. We agree on a plan and the student is relieved—for now.
What a way to start the day!
My student begins to share why he has not turned in some of his written assignments, something I know many professors in Higher Ed face daily. Here the issue is very disheartening; his father had died in a plane crash back in his home country in Africa. Understandably my student is a little preoccupied with this issue the student and I discuss ways for him to complete the course as this issue was not likely to be resolved any time soon. We agree on a plan and the student is relieved—for now.
What a way to start the day!