A barrage of emails have appeared in my inbox over the last few days. There was an assignment due last week and students are contacting me with all kinds of reasons why they shouldn't be penalised for not handing in their work on time.
I received a couple of emails with the stock-standard excuses.... illness or bereavement due to the unfortunate passing of beloved family members (grandparents seem to have a nasty habit of dying at this time of year).
But this year, I've also had a few new excuses I have not encountered before. These include:
(1) being dumped by a boyfriend/girlfriend (x 1)
(2) death of family pet (x 1)
(3) "I handed in the wrong version of my assignment" excuse (x 2)
Evidently, I'm a bit of a softy when it comes to giving students the benefit of the doubt but I'm starting to get a bit suspicious.
5 comments:
I would be devastated if my dog(s) died. And I would probably even quit my job if they didn't give me leave to mourn.... not sure how that would stack up for assignments though.
Toughen up. The student's death is an acceptable excuse.
Now that I've met you, I would go for the 'you are a softy' explanation.
:)
I find that the 'dog ate my assignment' excuse works a treat!
Tim: Being an animal lover myself, I'm thinking of letting that one through. However, I did ask the student to show some proof...not necessarily the dog itself but maybe a receipt from the vet.
Andrew: That would be a very compelling excuse.
Victor: You are most perceptive.
EK: Obviously Gen Y have moved on from that one.
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