Professor Nice Lady

I've spent a large portion of the day chipping away at grading papers and computing subtotals of final grades. You would imagine, given the type of student I deal with, that this is a fairly easy task: 0+0+0=0 = FAILING. But no, it is not.

The reason why it's been such a chore this semester to keep track of homework grades is because many students are taking major advantage of my late work policy, which is as follows: late work is accepted, but is subject to a one-point deduction per class period late. I'm a pretty nice lady, I think, and I am dedicated to my students' academic success, so I don't want to penalize them with a policy that's SO strict that they won't earn any points when their work is late. I'm about sick of being a nice lady.

Another problem with my type of student is that they often turn in work half-done. Sometimes it isn't even half-done. That is, even if I specifically state on their assignment sheets: "On the day this assignment is due, you will hand in three documents, A, B, and C," they will often only hand in one of the three. I've told them before, "I will wait to grade your assignment until it is complete. Until you hand in all the documents I ask for, your assignment sits and cries in my huge, lonely pile of incomplete work. The longer you wait to complete it, the less likely it is for you to earn any credit for your work."

Some students wait so long to turn in their work that it isn't worth any points at all. But, if they do turn something in ungodly late, I still have to look back in my grade book, count up how many class periods late their work is, and award them the 1 or 2 points they have earned. It wastes time and it sucks.

Many of my colleagues do not allow late work under any circumstances... seems a little draconian, a little harsh, not at all like how I like to run my classroom. There's got to be a happy medium...

I'm thinking something like 5 points off per class period late. Most assignments are only worth 10 points, so a 5-point deduction seems on the harsher side of fair. Actually, the 5-point deduction idea came from a student, an upperclassman, who said she thought the younger students weren't taking their work as seriously as they should. This student has never turned in anything late. My policy only helps the ones who are awful at completing anything on a timeline. In fact, it rewards them for procrastination and laziness-- like, "It's OK, you're Mama's little underachiever, and I'm just so proud that you even finished your homework today, and that you wrote your name on it and that you stapled it!"

Next fall, I'm turning over a new leaf (hahaha!). No more Mrs. Nice Lady. No more late work. If an assignment is late, it is an offense punishable by death-- stoning by a squad of happy clowns and dancing midgets.