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Always attend the first class meeting!
The first year I was teaching, I did what all teachers do. If a student
missed the first class, I put a big, fat line
through the name and gave the spot
to someone else. (For college courses, there
is always a list of students who
couldn’t get into the course and show up the
first day hoping to get added in.)
As usual, a handful of students weren’t there,
so I scratched them off and
replaced them.
Well, the second day of class, one of the previously missing students
showed up and still wanted to be in the class.
I gave what I thought was a
firm, “No” at first… But, I was a pretty new
teacher and I let the kid talk me into
letting him stay. (My “no’s” are MUCH firmer
now!) He said that he was going
to graduate after that semester (this was a
four year university) and wouldn’t
be able to graduate without the course. Newbie
mistake… I let myself get
sucked into his story.
Lesson learned!! That kid was a royal pain in the caboose the entire
semester! He had a really bad attitude, was
always complaining and was high
maintenance. Every single class period, I
regretted letting him back in. His
presence funked up the entire tone of the
class. Oh, and three years later –
yes, three years after he was supposed to
graduate – I saw him on campus.
He had lied. Whap my palm against my forehead,
“Doofus, doofus, doofus!”
Continued on the
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