Blue Paper

Evil: Rippled Potato Chips & French Onion Dip
Good: Helping a student find a tutor for their writing skills

Today was the start of the second, full week of classes on campus. It's been long enough that many classes have had at least one grade recorded for some homework, assignment or the like. This is also when a lot of students decide to change their schedule based on those grades so they walk around campus with blue scheduling forms to get signatures.

So, while waiting for my Psychology class, I had two students come to get my signature to drop the class. Let me tell you a little about them.

Student #1: This student is in his mid-forties and had a bad educational history. He quit school at 15, came back to get his GED at 30 and now came back at 45 to get an actual degree in something. He had never written anything more than his name or the occasional list so when he was given my assignment - he freaked. "In two pages, tell me what you hope to learn in this class." This is a standard assignment I give to my students - it's a 'plot device' to help me grab their interest in some of the material to be covered in the class. I also use it to get a sense of who are going to be the serious students and who are the Sheeple. Student #1 didn't strike me as a Sheeple - but he just didn't have the skills that one needs to jump into college and run. In my opinion he would be an average student once he completed a 'pre-college' program; something to help him learn how to write, proof-read and construct professional papers. This student couldn't type without capitalizing every other word and ignoring all punctuation and rules of spelling. I could tell that he was sort of getting the material that we were covering, but he didn't have the skills to communicate them very well.

Unfortunately, student #1 decided to drop the course. I would not be surprised if he doesn't finish his first year without serious attention to his professional / academic skills.

Student #2 was a punk; at least that's what I originally thought. With more tattoos, piercings and successful attacks on the English language than I have notebooks - he seemed like he was just in school for the overage money. He didn't sit in class - he sprawled across two desks because he 'wasn't comfortable'. He would ask questions that had nothing to do with the topic being discussed - and then become argumentative if I didn't answer him immediately. The cap was when I noticed that he had nothing with him to write - or write on. so all the times he was asking questions, it seemed as though he had no intention of capturing the material in the lecture and that I was there for his amusement. If you can't tell - I was not amused.

Then, out of the blue (ok, bad joke - I own it), he came by my office today with a blue paper in his hand. He explained that he did not have anything to write on or write with in class because, get this, he -couldn't- write. I was confused and asked him if he just had problems taking notes, or couldn't focus his attention - etc. He explained that he was constantly passed up the grades through High School because no one wanted him in class - that they didn't want to help him learn. Being the paranoid, suspicious person that I am, I countered him and said that if he was going to be successful in college - he had to help himself. He had not written the paper or taken a single note yet in any of his classes because he didn't know how. So, I got a hold of some of the services we have on campus, even walked him down to the tutoring center so he could get signed up for help. They said that they could help him teach himself - something that he seemed to respond to quickly. Rather than waiting on someone else to help him - he would do it himself with a little help from others.

While he was filling out some paperwork for the Center, I went back to my office to grab one of my spare notebooks (yes, I carry an extra in my bag. You never know) and brought it back to him. I gave him a pen and notebook and told him that he doesn't have any other excuses. He has the help and now the materials to survive on Shawnee's campus. What he did from then on was on -his- shoulders. It was sort of a 'grow up or shut up' speech that I've given a few other students and considered the matter closed.

Psychology came and went and as I was closing up shop and answering some questions from straggling students, I saw him pausing in the wings. He still had the notebook and pen that I gave him and I saw him writing furiously in class. He put the notebook on the podium and wanted me to look through his notes. We talked about what he wrote (which was pretty good concerning the topic today was Abnormal Psychology) and he said that he was going to 'impress' me this term.

I was surprised but willing to give the guy some latitude. We'll see where this goes.

ATQ
-T