For some reason I have yet to fathom, the school keeps letting students into classes, in week 2. Usually this I not too much of a problem, I haven’t done anything earth shattering that would require special instruction, but it does mean that I have to carry around extra syllabus far more than I would like to. My bag is not that big after you stuff in a grade book, text and folder not to mention the fact that the damn thing is more to look pretty than to be functional.

So a new student came to class on Monday, I gave here a syllabus and told her to read it over and come to my office or email me with questions. She showed up in my office this morning. I came in and she was sitting on the floor in front of my door. “I was wondering when you were coming in,” she said. I should have known at that moment that this was going to go down hill. My office hours are not only on the front page of the syllabus, but my schedule is also posted on the office door, in neon green. I pointed this out to her, but she did not seem phased. “Abandon hope all ye who enter here” I though as I went through the door.

She had two problems she said, and I knew that I was screwed. First, my syllabus said that all work had to be typed on a computer or word processor. I must have given here a strange look at this point because truthfully I was thinking that not one professor in the whole damn school would accept a paper that is handwritten. Her computer, it seemed, was broken and she could not afford to fix it. I pointed out that there are a myriad of computer labs on campus and she should use one of those. “But that would take me so long! And besides, I have three kids.” What I felt like saying is, “I don’t care.” Look I am not a heartless bitch, well sometimes I am, but that is not the point. I feel for those who come to school with children at home, I really do. But I don’t see how that should matter at all in their class work unless there was an emergency with the children. Honestly I would expect that anyone who has signed up for classes would already have a plan about the three small children. Not to mention the fact that because we are a large commuter school, the majority of our students are non traditional, meaning that again a majority of them are not 18 and they also have families. Which means? You’re nothing special.

She did not like my advice that she plan ahead and give herself plenty of time to complete assignments, work in small stretches and so forth. Than came the second problem. “It says here that you do not accept late work.” “Yes,” I said expecting that she would ask about some problem with a future absence. “So what should I do then?” she asked. I was dumbfounded. “What do you means?” “Well what should I do about late work then?” The obvious answer here is of course not to turn work in late, but that answer did not seem to make her happy. And the semester is off to a roaring start.