End of the semester

Next week is the final exam for each class/section. This weekend was spent reviewing all grades and grading extra credit. And answering emails and more emails and more emails. I have to manually transfer the end of chapter quizzes from the ebook to our learning management system, Canvas. After I did that, the deluge of emails started. Most were along the lines of “I didn’t know they were required.” The only reason for not knowing that was that they did not read the syllabus. And yes, I give them a quiz over the syllabus at the beginning of the semester, which many do not take or fail. We write detailed syllabi for just this reason. Go ahead and protest the grade. If it is explicitly stated in the syllabi, it is gospel. However, this does not mean that we do not receive detailed explanations of why we need to make an exception. This time of the year makes me wonder about my choice of teaching. However, the complainers and those who don’t read the syllabus raise my stress levels are more than overcome by those who thank us for a great class and feel they have learned a lot. Those students are the reason I keep doing this.