Posts Tagged "talking to professors"

“Can I take my final early? I bought plane tickets!”

Posted by on Apr 24, 2012 in Communicating with Professors, General | 203 comments

(And we’re off to the races, everyone! Some of you are moving into end of the term. Here in the Pacific Northwest, we have another month or so before graduation. Regardless, I’d like to talk about a pesky issue that plagues many, many faculty at this time of the year… the scheduled vacation around finals time. And I’m not talking about the faculty’s fantasy trip to the Caribbean!). “I need to take the final early,” Student said. “I bought plane tickets.” My colleague, who teaches at another college, told student, “Put your request in writing and I’ll have to take it to the department.” For the...

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In Honor of my Blogoversary: My First V-Log and My Very First Post

Posted by on Apr 10, 2012 in Communicating with Professors, General | 36 comments

(Happy Blogoversary to me… and to you! It’s been one year since The Chatty Professor began and I thought I’d celebrate with my first Vlog, and my very, very first post. Enjoy! And I can’t wait for our further conversations!)   Plead. Cry. Yell. Play victim. Apologize. After 13 years of teaching, I’ve witnessed all sorts of reactions when students learn that they aren’t getting the grade they “needed.” But this was a first: A bribe. It was almost a “good” bribe, too:  Student would babysit my kids or mow my lawn. I don’t have a lawn. I do have kids. And it is hard to find a good babysitter these...

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Why Do Some Professors Plan to Fail You? (More Search Term Fun!)

Posted by on Apr 6, 2012 in Communicating with Professors, General | 9 comments

My earlier search term post generated some incredible discussion on Twitter, so guess what? I’m going to keep going. If you missed it, click here to recap. There was more to that list… and the searchin’ only got better. So, let’s see if I can come up with some more answers: -Summer or fall for college, which is better? That depends on you and your schedule, of course! Also, if you’re just entering college, your experience is going to be very, very different during each term. I wrote about what summer school is like in this post. You have a different mixture of students and profs definitely spend less time on campus. Now this may be appealing...

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Facebook Between Students & Profs: Necessary for Online Classes?

Posted by on Mar 29, 2012 in Communicating with Professors, General | 9 comments

(Check out my first week on my new site! Can you believe? This is my third post! I haven’t responded to a news item in a while, and I see that the continued discussion regarding Facebook, students and profs is not going anywhere. I covered this, myself, in this post called School Business on Facebook: Time for Some New Communication Rules. Here’s my response to a different idea on the subject… fresh from the Huffington Post.) I’ll just say up front. I don’t. And I won’t. Friend current students on Facebook, that is. I’m out of the classroom for a year working on the grant project I talked about earlier this week, and I’m...

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Word. Wednesday. Say It Now: “This feels _______ to discuss…”

Posted by on Mar 28, 2012 in General, Interpersonal Communication | 12 comments

Another moment of staring at her computer, and then to see her prof to talk about how she feels! (Here I am again! I didn’t forget Word. Wednesday! And, guess what… it’s still Wednesday! I’m finding my footing with my new blog, so thank you for being patient today. Are you ready for what to say? You can actually use this one any day–it’s a keeper. Here goes!) What’s the word? (This week, it’s a phrase): “This feels risky/difficult/scary/awkward to talk about/mention/discuss…” A plagiarized outline. A recorded speech received in my online class where the student is reading/sitting/without a body (yes,...

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