Posts Tagged "telling the professor something difficult"

Students, Before You Do That Assignment Your Way, Read This

Posted by on Jun 12, 2012 in Communicating with Professors, General | 18 comments

Let’s say you were a contestant on The Next Food Network Star. Three Food Network stars—big ones—Bobby Flay, Giada De Laurentiis, Alton Brown—are giving you honest, straight-up advice about what you need to do to win over the Food Network executives so you might score your own show. Would you take their advice? Or would you do what you think is right, if you had a differing opinion? Okay, so first of all, yes, I am blogging about reality television… again. This cold-turned-sinus-infection thing is kicking my behind and I’m watching a little too much. Second of all, I couldn’t help but make a correlation between something I saw on this show last Sunday and...

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The Response: Should You Tell Your Professor About Your Anxiety/Depression?

Posted by on Jun 5, 2012 in Communicating with Professors, General | 17 comments

(When we left off last week, a student wrote in wondering if is appropriate to tell a prof about issues with anxiety/depression that could affect class performance. I am simplifying, but here’s the post. Here is my response to the student. I also consulted Jennifer Sandler, who heads up Access/Disability Services at Highline Community College, for back-up).  Dear Student, I’m going to attempt to give you the best advice that I can. Not to get too cheerleader-y on you, but I’d like to first celebrate the fact that you’re moving forward! Many people with anxiety/depression would stay stuck and not even try to battle through it. You are in the...

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Student Question: Should I Tell My Professor About My Anxiety/Depression?

Posted by on Jun 1, 2012 in Communicating with Professors, General | 8 comments

(A student wrote in with this question quite a while ago and let’s face it, thousands of students–people, really–suffer from anxiety/depression! I have been corresponding with the student for some time now and want to update that the student is moving forward, so that is great news! I held on to this post because I wanted to consult with my own Access Services Office to ensure that I had all of my information correct and get some additional advice to offer up. I hope that what the student shared will help any other students who are struggling with the same issues! I’m going to start with the student’s question and then in Part 2, share my...

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Student Question: “I just finished my first year. I’m not doing so hot.”

Posted by on May 2, 2012 in Communicating with Professors, General | 15 comments

(Remember that low cost textbook Gates grant I wrote about a while ago? We are gearing up for a huge milestone and I’m in charge of that milestone. So, please be patient if I miss a few blog steps. In the meantime, with the timing of the term, I had planned to blog about failing grades… again. I’ve received two student e-mails recently about the topic. This one really got to me, so I’m diverting from Word. Wednesday. to feature it. I know many, many students are in this student’s same position! My hope is that many of you will comment with some supportive feedback, as well. As usual, any identifying factors have been removed). Dear...

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“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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