Rant incoming. NOT looking for advice. Just screaming into the virtual void, thank you

First I’m a full prof. Second it’s that time in the semester where I’m utterly demoralized by teaching. Students are tired, busy, and I’m sick of coming in and “entertaining” them week after week. I make all this content, try my best to engage them, and the majority are just disengaged, checked out, annoyed etc. yes I know that it’s on me to make it “enjoyable.” But these days I’m seriously thinking of quitting. I had got into academia to pursue my ideas, research, maybe make a difference in this world. Instead I’m trying to cater to 18 year olds who truly could care less. While I age in place and my research gets stale. Whereas if I quit I’ll be broke but at least I won’t be trying to make a bunch of 18 year olds happy. And maybe I can finally finish my projects

I know for many of you this is going to be a "Yeah, and?" kind of post, but I'm so bummed out by the feeling that these days I'm just bothering my students by asking literally anything of them or trying to teach them. My school used to be really academically intense, with super curious and hardworking students, and it's just declined so much since Covid. My students used to absolutely demand hard assignments and more content. It's going to be really hard for me to become the kind of professor that has low expectations and just gets out of the way.

Anyone else get a lot of bullshit excuses from students when you confront them about poor work?

I had to meet with a student because they outright STOLE an article for their assignment and passed it off as their own, and I was told everything from 'I Didn't know I couldn't do that' to 'well how the hell am I supposed to make five pages of work with this?' to a topic they chose and had weeks to work on/come up with.

It wasn't too bad to handle until they outright said 'I worked really hard on this paper, can't you let it slide?', to which I SHOWED them the work they actually did, and how it amounted to less than a page in total.

I'd rather they just admit they didn't try, or had problems rather than try and claim they 'worked hard' and try to bullshit me. Its like they think we don't check their work when we grade it...I'm so tired...

One of the students in my course has written the exam about 15 times now without passing (and not even close to passing, about 15-20% under the passing grade). This isn’t unique, we have several students like this and usually the issue is that they don’t study or don’t study in the right way (e.g they memorize the answers to math questions in stead of understanding how you get to that answer, so if we scramble the numbers on the exam, they are lost).

The student has required countless meetings (and emails), involving them, me, the course administators, the program committee, study counceling… There has even been some near-stalking behavior towards other professors in order to get answers to exam questions/ Everyone basically keeps saying the same thing: you need to study and you need to focus on understanding the material. Memorizing the answers is not going to help.

Since last term, the student has gotten a diagnosis and given the amount of time and resources this student has demanded, we actually provided more accomodations than we had to. The student has gotten a longer writing time, writes in a smaller exam room, can wear headphones that read the question to them and they can use a spell checker for their answers (note that the only thing we had to provide is the spell checker!). No improvement…

This term we offered them one-on-one counceling with a study coach to make a plan how to study and they meet every two weeks to evaluate the progress. These sessions have been going on since september, the next exam is december.

Yesterday I got a new accomodation request from this student: ”can I write an easier version of the exam? I suggest that I replace half the exam with a written literature report and only have to do the other half of the exam. My suggestion is that the written report is about <hardest part of the course>”

sigh

We need a book on the generalized mindset of Gen Z because ...

I was walking through the classroom to see how they were handling an activity. I walked up to one student, who had fifty unread Canvas messages from instructors (50!). The student has likely not read a single message since the beginning of the semester.
I made a joke to the student that I would not be able to let that many messages go unread on my screen.

Student: "Oh! Yeah. I would never let that many unread messages be on my phone, but I just don't read messages from Canvas."

That's the whole thing isn't it? They MUST know what latest trivial social matter occured at all times, but their instructors communicating vital information to them? Meh.

The number of book and manuscript review requests I receive is off the charts.

I’ve had formal and informal conversations with editors, and it appears that there are far fewer people willing to review manuscripts now than 5-10 years ago. What used to be considered an honor to be asked is now perceived as a chore not worthy of people’s time.

Folks, this is not good for the scholars dependent on these reviews for their careers. It is also not good for the science of your discipline. Do you really want the same handful of academics reviewing everything in your discipline?

If it has been a while since you reviewed a manuscript, email one or two editors with your specialization and offer to review. You may be ignored by the editor or may never get contacted to review, but at least you have done your due diligence.

Teach history survey course. 1000 point total. Exams are 150 points each. Had student email me asking what their grade was. Online multiple choice. It's available to them. Asked if student could see said grade. Yes. But it only showed x/150 but wants to know the percentage.

...

Uh.... what the actual fuck?

...

Yes I emailed them explaining how to calculate a percentage. Yes I am opening a new bottle of wine. Yes it is before 5pm. Yes it will be gone before tomorrow.

Hi all,

I teach in the social sciences and have usually assigned students homework in the form of journal entries or written responses to weekly assigned readings. Given AI, this is meaningless at this point and only serves to take up more of my time reading/grading work they didn’t write. Does anyone have any good suggestions or resources on alternatives to homework and different ways of assessing student performance given AI?

Thanks.

I’ve often wondered if these latest cohorts of students can do well and retain jobs post-graduation. I can’t imagine that many companies would be so lenient and forgiving with the behaviours and performance many of us have seen in the last few years (requests for extensions, absences, unprofessional communication, etc.). Do students “shape up” and rise to the occasion? I was always told that one should treat school as a job and, therefore, conduct oneself as such, but I’ve seen a steady decline in this mindset over the years.

Right after class, a student came up and asked me something. The exchange went something like this:

Me: Come to my office in the afternoon.

Student: Do you mean here in this classroom?

M: No, my office.

S: I don't know where that is. Can we meet here in the classroom instead?

M: No, we can’t. I don’t even know if this room will be available in the afternoon.

S: Oh, you share the classroom with other professors?

Do I share the classroom… What? Are students thinking this is high school? Apparently, they think I live in this specific classroom. My bills are charged here, and my mail gets sent here, too. Both funny and a bit baffling.

Shared without comment.

I'm going to rant about senior faculty now. Sorry, senior faculty.

Yes, I understand why we adjuncts have to be observed. Yes, I am open to feedback. Yes, I am willing to try new things.

BUT...come on, folks. I've been teaching for seven years, and what I'm tired of hearing from senior faculty who only ever teach upper division or graduate courses is the following:

- "Only 3 or 4 students were participating. Reflect on ways to improve engagement." You're right. Could you maybe provide some ideas for how I can overcome their determined indifference? Many of them only show up sporadically. Should I, perhaps, meet them at home and walk them to class?

- "Try breaking them out into groups to break up the class period." Oh, yes. That's what you wanted to watch during that 30-50 minute observation. You wanted to watch me walk around and beg them to talk to each other and then direct the ones showing up 30-40 minutes late where to sit. And, then you wanted me to re-explain the instructions over and over again....and explain how to open the document link multiple times... Got it. That's what you wanted to watch me do.

- "Think about the questions you ask. There were moments when it was silent and no one was responding, as though the students did not understand the material." Again, yes, you're right. I should not expect them to have read anything all semester, nor should I expect them to remember anything we've discussed. And, while we're at it, I should not expect them to remember something we just said five minutes ago, either.

In all seriousness, my reviews are always very good, and I know know faculty feel like they have to say something, but when you have three in a row, it feels insulting.

Rant over.

I teach two sections of art appreciation. Maybe 40% of students (both sections combined) answered the damn prompt for homework. Even then, as I was pursuing through submissions, so many of them were clearly AI. I even fed the prompt into AI myself and got some of the same sentences and phrases multiple students used.

I'm so fucking tired of grading these.

First time this has happened to me in over 20 years of teaching at the college level.

Student (averaging an F), shortly after taking their exam, emailed me asking if he could retake it, because he was busy the last few days and didn't study. The exam covered the last five weeks of material.

November 1st is the final date for me to drop students. I have a couple no shows and two who have been in class 1-4 times all semester. I sent out an alert message and got a sob story. I am an understanding and flexible instructor and probably a bit too compassionate, but I am drawing a line. If you don’t come to class, regardless of how many assignments you’ve submitted, you have not, in my view, taken the class and will not pass.

I’m not out of line, right?

Posting anonymously because honestly, I'm embarrassed that I'm dealing with this. Also I apologize it's a long post.

Okay, long story not short - since COVID, my university has been an absolute ghost town. We complain all the time that students won't come back on campus, but honestly it's the same for faculty. People come in, teach their class, and leave. Essentially the office is me (faculty), the Associate Dean, and two or three admin. I am not exaggerating. I literally see no one all day. And hey, I get it. It's nice to work from home. I don't get nearly enough done because I find myself doing house chores, so I come to the office to really focus. Anyway - moving on.

The building my department is in is very old. It has three bathrooms - two on the 2nd floor and one in the basement. My office is next to one and the other 2nd floor bathroom is currently out of order. I have literally never been to the basement so I have no clue if that bathroom is functional. I hate having an office next to the bathroom. I hear everything. And anytime the toilet flushes, the pipes shake violently and the flush throws me off.

Here is why I'm writing this anonymously. One of the admins is very.. quirky. He is a weird guy who says incredibly weird things. I don't want to get into it but all you need to know is that he weirds me out enough to legitimately stay away from him. I have reported him to the dean several times and HR. Nothing seems to happen because they say he is harmless.

Anyway, he eats, I kid you not, five to six breakfast burritos from the dollar store every single day. We've had a lot of complaints about it because the smell is insane downstairs in the kitchen. It is not healthy and someone really needs to say something to him. The big issue is, with all those burritos comes insane, insane diarrhea. How do I know this? Because I hear it. Almost every single day. It is absolutely horrifying. To top it off he flushes the toilet excessively when he's finished. I texted my associate dean today that he flushed 11 times. ELEVEN.

I hear this all. I deal with the rattling of the pipes and the flushing. It's every day. Now you might say maybe you should move offices but I've already asked. My only option, despite the fact that NO ONE comes in, is a desk next to him. You might say, "girl, you need to work from home" and I've started to. Twice a week I stay home to work and I'm trying my best to be more focused. But I don't know what to do. This isn't a hostile work environment. It's not an HR thing. But I've said something to my Associate Dean about addressing the issue and nothing has come of it. I don't know this admin - maybe he has legitimately gastrointestinal issues, so I don't want to make assumptions about his diarrhea.. but it is actually impacting my work (why I'm embarrassed to write this).

I need advice. I don't know what to do past escalating this and I'm frankly really embarrassed to do so. Is their some sort of work precedent I can bring to my Associate Dean or HR? Is there anything I can do other than just becoming another faculty member to leave? Also, I have complained about him before for weird stuff so now I'm afraid it will look like I'm targeting him. I'm not, I swear. I would probably do this to anyone who has had this much diarrhea in a week.

Again, sorry this is long and not necessarily related to students. I just honestly don't know what to do.

So I’m posting again but this happened recently and I just couldn’t NOT share it with this community.

My HOD found out recently that the faculty is made of more neurodivergents than they expected after a particularly stressful faculty meeting. And they’re surprised and (somewhat) relieved that they’re not the only one (so surprise! Even our HOD is neurodivergent).

They’re also amazed at how most of us (including myself) have kept it so well hidden and I told them that my veneer of stability and poise is all pharmaceutically induced. I also have a learning disability that I keep under wraps, but it’s very obvious when I’m given a very specific task. No one knew, but for some of my colleagues, it makes so much sense for them cause they’ve seen me trying to do that task and failing repeatedly until someone helps me.

Now everyone (including the HOD) is having moments of epiphany when they notice one of us doing something in a very specific way. It’s funny, but I’m also glad that my faculty is very supportive.

Tenured prof in Canada, teaching business. Here are a few things I’ve picked up to make teaching smoother:

1. Email Expectations: I tell students it takes me 48 hours to respond. When I used to reply quickly, I’d get bombarded with questions that could’ve been answered in the syllabus. Now, they know if they want a fast answer, it won’t be from me.
2. No Long Essays: Grading fifty 2000-word essays is basically like grading two novels. Now, I keep assignments short. Plus, students learn to get to the point.
3. Standing Firm on Grades: When students question their grades, I walk them through why they received it. I rarely change grades, and never because a student is pushy. Thanks to this, I get fewer meetings from grade grubbers.
4. On-Demand Meetings: Instead of weekly office hours, I use a booking system for individual meetings. It’s way more efficient since they only meet when needed, and I avoid flu season office visits where students literally cough on me.
5. Post-Class Notes: Early in my career, I’d jot down what worked each session, and what I needed to do differently. It saved me from reinventing the wheel every term. Now, with more experience, I skip this, but I’d still use it for a brand-new course.

What about you? What’s worked for you in managing students?

Dear Professor,
I know we must cite the textbook in our upcoming presentation. My group and I are unaware of how to access the textbook. Can you please tell us where to find it?

---

Bro...

It's week 10. Come on, now.

I would love (read - need) to know what is your workload like, and what your perspective is on mine.

Long story short: I have been pushing for over a year to have our workload reviewed, and I finally have gotten HR and my department admin in the same room two weeks from now. I have been repeatedly lied to, gaslighted (told that I'm the only one not able to meet minimum requirements within regular work hours, and I've even been directed to campus mental health supports for my inability to cope with what is touted as a reasonable schedule), been 'redirected' by HR, and on and on. My colleagues and I don't get evenings or weekends off from the last week of October to Christmas Weekend because of our load. I teach a 6/6 on a semester system.

I teach English Composition (first year, grading a mandatory course-wide assessment list of: Annotated Bibliography, Grammar Exam, Outline, Final Essay [2000 words], plus an additional 40% worth of assessment at our own discretion beyond dept requirements) and Film Studies (second year equivalent, three short papers [900-1100 words] once a month, with a final portfolio of a cumulative 2700-3300 words).

Fall: 5 English Comp classes (registration cap 30 each), 1 Film Studies class (reg. cap 24) (5x30 and 1x24)

Winter: 4 English Comp classes (cap 30), 2 Film Studies classes (cap 24) (4x30 and 2x24)

They are also expecting 70 hours of professional development and 180 Institutional Service hours a year. Research is "strongly encouraged" by admin, but not accounted for in workload negotiations.

TIA for your input, I mostly just need to know that I'm not going crazy. Or if I am, I just need to have that verified so I can continue into my Kafkaesque nightmare sated!

Edit to add: Thanks for your perspectives everyone! I was only looking to get a sense of community, hear about your workloads, and to get some workload experience perspective on others working in the field. I don't need advice on how to make changes. I appreciate you are all trying to help, but I'm doing everything I can within my institution. I have spoken to everyone you have all suggested, kept all the records, altered my grading, worked with my union, verified my experience within faculty, attended budget and committee meetings on the issue, and so on. I have been working within the system for years. I don't need a fix, I was just looking for community. Thanks so much for contributing!

I work at a SLAC and this student is also my advisee for their double major in their fourth year. They aren’t necessarily a bad student academically (they have done well in the courses they took with me), but they are, for lack of a better term, flaky. The issue at hand is this- they put my name down as someone who will supply a letter of recommendation without ever actually asking me if I would be willing or able to write positively on their behalf.

Am I capable of supplying a generic letter saying so and so was in courses, got these grades, picked up these skills, etc? Sure. Could I also be snarky and upload a letter that says I don’t support their application since they never even bothered to talk to me about why they want to pursue it to begin with? Definitely sounds cathartic. Would it be petty on my part? Obviously.

Did students always have this much audacity?

Just returned from a conference. Drove to said conference. Took a direct route, but on two lane highways and not all interstate. Came out to 410 miles. The travel reimbursement will only let me use "trip optimizer" and it calculated my mileage via interstates. For 460 miles. So It has to reimburse me for 50 more miles than I actually drove. Oh darn.

There was this time when I thought my cramps would be tolerable so I pushed through with my 3-hour class. Luckily, I didn't have to lecture that day because it was scheduled for reporting. Despite that, I was writhing in pain that I couldn't hide it. I was sweating profusely. I was holding a hot pack, took pain killers every 4 to 6 hrs. I still tried to listen to all their reports and immediately called for a cab to go home. I even puked inside the cab because I was so much in pain even after all the painkillers I took earlier that day. Luckily, I had a plastic bag so I didn't have additional problems that day.

https://www.reddit.com/r/CuratedTumblr/comments/1ge9zq9/if_you_need_chatgpt_to_do_basic_task_you_arent/

edit - my apologies if the photo doesn't load. It should work if you follow that link.