It's Fall Out, Boys

And down go the Chiefs. I bet Dom is happy.

This is the time of year when lethargy sets in for most teachers. The student excuses for missed work and classes aren't imaginative enough for a laugh. C'mon, put some effort into it.

Keeping me going are the beautiful days and warm weather here in New England.

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Lethargy? You mean perma-tiredness? Absence used to drive me mad. If you're not here, I can't do my job. I do not miss it in any way.

Go study sociology. This class requires the every lesson mentality.

Two-thirds of humanity is lazy; one-third has got diligence.

Way too high on one, too low on the other.

There are four categories of student IMO.

The dunderheads. They're in the wrong place.
The middle. They'll do the right thing.
The good. There is a conciseness about their work.
The floaters. Lazy, but can turn it on when pushed.

I'm just tired of the excuses. One student has missed two and a half weeks because of a death in the family. Really, that long for a death in the family ?

I've been having family problems.

I've been mentally distracted.

I've been going through a tough time.

My ass hurts (I'm making that one up).

Our students do face problems that traditional students don't always have, and most work, they consider work more important than class.

I arranged individual conferences with students today, and four didn't bother to show up or email

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I'm not expecting a reply.

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One more.

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For reasons we can't figure out, one of my friends doesn't get text/voice/IM from me. Everything works great going to me. He doesn't have me blocked.

So, we tried WhatsApp, and can communicate.

I somehow got notified that I'm in two groups...neither of which exist. And a couple spam messages which I just reported and blocked. Maybe I should try John's route.

I seem to get spam text messages all the time. I have fun thinking of replies. Then I block whoever sent them.

Occasionally I get texts from a couple people hours after they have been sent. Like why did you text me at 3:30 am?

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John, is it Ok if I ask you something?

And as far as I know; no one is looking for me. At least no one in authority.

Sure, Zeno.

I wish these spammers could be a little more imaginative.

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sometimes a blurred line between lazy and bored.

I noticed that the 'introspective' student no longer exists... it's probably been a few decades since they have died out.

Boredom is often used to cover up a lack of understanding.

A few years ago, I asked my students if they were going to vote. Most said no and offered apathy about candidates as a reason. Then I asked them if they weren't voting because they didn't know how voting worked or what to do when they got to the ballot box

Most said yes to that.

A colleague who taught political science didn't believe that could be true until he asked his students and got the same results.

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Many of my students fear being wrong. Or embarrassed to admit they don't understand. Or are afraid to ask questions. Or believe that intelligence is a natural gift.

All of these, and more, keep students from digging in and trying.

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what a shame, we should all do more of it

'Fear of failure' is the mind killer...

do not disagree, hence the use of 'sometimes' qualifier

guessing you thought about the start of your educational career as being 'a teacher'
curious how you consider yourself now, and what events makes things different

fear of failure is procrastinator petrol

Hear hear...

Same as it ever was...

Like that VCR blinking 12 noon... just like when it came from the factory. We're in record.