My students are too lazy to read long things. When they can't electronically search something I've given them, like a syllabus, they will use me as a proxy google, emailing me a question instead of taking the time to read the document and finding out the answer for themselves. Or, they'll email me questions like:
How do I put accents on words?
What's the capital of Bolivia?
What's the official currency of Panama?
Where is my office?
When are my office hours?
Now, I dedicate time to stuff like office, hours, and contact info the first day. It's on the first page of my syllabus. But, I've noticed that my students have gotten more and more in the habit of just using me as a proxy google. It's easier to send me a google query than to take the time to read and look for it themselves.
I feel like we, as a culture, are fighting a losing battle. These kids have never known anything else. And it's getting worse each year. I will have kids who will tell me, literally, that they don't understand how to do assignments, that are literally at the top of the page, and it's simple stuff, like making sure to attach an image to a document. Learned helplessness is a thing too. Parents do so much for them, and they get to college, and we have so many "Offices" that have people who will help fuckups that they can get through college without learning these things. For real.
God help us.
In case you wonder, I've been grading papers and answering emails for 3 hours.
How do I put accents on words?
What's the capital of Bolivia?
What's the official currency of Panama?
Where is my office?
When are my office hours?
Now, I dedicate time to stuff like office, hours, and contact info the first day. It's on the first page of my syllabus. But, I've noticed that my students have gotten more and more in the habit of just using me as a proxy google. It's easier to send me a google query than to take the time to read and look for it themselves.
I feel like we, as a culture, are fighting a losing battle. These kids have never known anything else. And it's getting worse each year. I will have kids who will tell me, literally, that they don't understand how to do assignments, that are literally at the top of the page, and it's simple stuff, like making sure to attach an image to a document. Learned helplessness is a thing too. Parents do so much for them, and they get to college, and we have so many "Offices" that have people who will help fuckups that they can get through college without learning these things. For real.
God help us.
In case you wonder, I've been grading papers and answering emails for 3 hours.
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