the first semester

Made it through my first 4 months as a classroom instructor; the later part was breakneck as we had to compensate for lost meetings due to the consecutive typhoons that hit our place. In fact, in my Management class, we haven’t had enough time for the “Controlling” function but I’m glad we had completed “Leadership”– something the other sections haven’t. Not that we’re competing with them though.

Overall, it was a rewarding experience to know that I had been part of the education of these students or perhaps, touched their lives in a way or two if some consider it that way. I intend to be regarded as a strict teacher. I sense, and co-teachers affirm that even other students who weren’t in any of my classes have the same impression of me. My students themselves had amusingly associated with me the word “stress” throughout the term. They often say, “Sir, ka-stress naman!” (Sir, that’s stressful!). Oh c’mon! Are they expecting to study ABC’s?

Alright, I won’t deny being meticulous with their output especially homework. These kids belong to ‘Generation Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V’ as one of my former mentors put it and true enough, their papers were copied from the Web then pasted in Word often without even bothering to cite their sources. My frustration almost made me suggest to having the web page itself printed along with the ads and buttons which, in truth, would be better because the URL is printed as well – the least way of giving credit to the authors. Worse, they did not even bother reading the relevance of what they submitted to what was asked! Perhaps they thought there were too many of them and I am too busy to actually read what they submit. Somehow they were right; I just scan through their papers. But the purpose of scanning is to find key words which would either earn my approval or otherwise. To give them a hint of what I look for, I returned their first homework with some parts underlined and noted with remarks like “What are you talking about?”, or “Next time, read if relevant”, or “Summarize!” For the rest of the term, this was my index: 3 to 5 points deduction from their actual grade for those exceeding the prescribed two pages and the real hopeless ones get 10 points more than the equivalent of zero but which, still is 15 points below passing just for their expense on paper and printing.

Cheating is another major issue. As a part-time instructor, I am paid in an hourly basis and so I do not get to proctor my own exams because the school is maximizing the pay for full-time colleagues whose salaries are computed in monthly rates. Still, when I got the answer sheets, cheating was apparent. Guess what – both parties were punished. The “copiers” received a failing score whereas the accomplices’ answers for the cheated part were disregarded losing them at least 10 points. They were never confronted and no names were named but this disappointing revelation was announced in class to warn everyone. I may be tough but I don’t embarrass them. I want them to know that they were given a fresh start. The next exam therefore was given in multiple sets created similarly and labeled uniquely and included topics from prelim to finals. This would not give them enough time to decipher who got which questionnaire.

Even for computer subjects, some students abused the magic of computer shortcuts. The results were files with different names but the same errors, date and time created and modified, and author. To prevent recurrence during the finals, I surprised them with a written exam for laboratory to find out who really knows what. With computers shut off and pens in hand, they analyzed codes printed on paper. The results were an expected drop of grades from the previous grading period.

I did not expect my students to equal in one sitting, the knowledge I’d acquired in my years in college and in the industry. Neither do I intend to be the villain who would not wish them success and find amusement in their sufferings. One moment I’m mad about their negligence and noise, the next, I’m cracking jokes. I break monotony whenever possible. But I feel I had to be stringent to instill in them to always strive for excellence and not settle for mediocrity; to try their best before believing that it is all they could. So they may understand that they could cheat their exams in school but not the fact that they did not learn anything which would eventually manifest when they’re applying for decent jobs. Further, grades aren’t numbers that they must achieve by all means but rather are figures that measure how they really perform. I try to be as transparent with how their grades are computed and constantly remind them how much more they need to make the cut.

I believe this is generally a promising group if given sufficient motivation. Significant part of this motivation however could neither be imposed by me nor by somebody else – students ought to learn to draw it from themselves and for themselves.

One lad, I’ve learned, was taking Computer Fundamentals for the third time. His previous teacher had told me that he’s not dull and in fact a fast learner. He fails because we would miss class if doesn’t feel like attending. He would miss his exams not because he has problems settling his fees but simply because he intends to miss it. With me, he failed during prelim. He could have passed midterms but didn’t officially file for special exam until the filing period lapsed so he failed once more. He redeemed himself during pre-finals by earning a whopping 94% mark and I saw hope for him. I talked to him seriously and told him that we’re almost there and that I appreciate his renewed eagerness along with the encouragement to just keep it up for until the finals which would be in a month. He agreed and was cooperative and diligent for the rest of term. Ultimately, he passed the subject and is now eligible to enroll major ones come next semester.
The experience so far is indeed a combination of inspirations and frustrations; there are more to expect. I had heard some of their stories and they had heard mine. Classes resume in a couple of weeks and I’m handling a new group of students. But nothing beats the first time, they say.

Here are few memories of my students from our last two meetings. Sadly, not all of them passed. But I hope lessons were learned.