Day 15 - Governor Newsom imposes new restrictions

Finals week…

Monday. 11/30/20

 7:30…and I’m up again. Class starts at 8:30 so time to go downstairs and post the Discussion Board.  I go downstairs and wake the dog up by rubbing her tummy.  Outside and more dog shit on the patio – leaves are everywhere but there is no time to rake them.  Back inside and pieces of chicken for her, lemon water for me.  I go to work.

8:30-12:30 - The students have lecture and a chapter review quiz.  I take this opportunity to catch up on Attendance and I note, for the first time, that I’m extremely behind on two of the classes.  This is a problem because if the students don’t sign in on the Discussion Board they are technically absent and will receive a 0 on all assignments due for that day; HOWEVER, students will frequently wake up late, fail to sign in on the Discussion Board, and take the quizzes anyway.  When they receive a score on a quiz, before I’ve had the chance to zero them out, they think they got away with it. So, it’s really not fair for me to notify them TWO weeks later, a week before the semester ends, “Oh, by the way – you know that 10 you got on your Chapter Review Quiz two weeks ago?  Well, it’s now a 0 because I didn’t take attendance in a timely manner and failed to block your score on the day of the assignment.”  Of course I don’t say that last sentence, but you know what I mean.  Telling them TWO WEEKS out that a perfect score is now a 0 is dirty.

I do It anyway.

I go all the way back to 11/13/20 and start zeroing out students, emailing them the standard line: “I did not see you sign in on the Discussion Board on 11/13/20.  As a result, you will be marked absent and all assignments for that day will receive a score of 0.”  There’s always a few who ruin it for the rest of the students – they’re repeat offenders. I am. sick. of the handful of students who get to sleep in while the rest of us ‘suit up and show up’ at 8:30, every day.  One hour after class starts, these students slowly wake up, stretch, and decide, while yawning, “Oh, I guess I’ll log onto class right now and get that 10-point quiz out of the way. As soon as I take it, I’ll go back to bed.”  No.

Because of the Canvas software, the students are automatically notified via email whenever there is a grade change in the online gradebook.  Two of my highschoolers email me immediately, protesting their zeros, and screaming, “But I did the work.”  I’ve dealt with these two in the past many, many times. 

By this time, class is over. I spend the next 1.5 hours comprising an email wherein I explain, as I have with these two students on numerous other occasions:

 “I’m not sure you understand the significance of the Discussion Board. This is a “synchronous” class and we meet in real time, every Wednesday and Friday, from 8:30-10:05. It is not fair to your fellow classmates, who diligently sign in at 8:30, when you come to class an hour late, take a quiz, and then leave.  If we were in a real classroom – and administration has asked instructors to treat our “synchronous” classes as if we were actually meeting in the classroom - you would be expected in class at 8:30. So you see, enrolling in this class is much more than logging on to Canvas, taking a quiz, then logging out.  You must report to class at 8:30, every day, and remain in class, on Canvas, until 10:05.”

My female highschooler goes ballistic, saying, “This isn’t fair.  I’ve worked hard to get my grade up in your class and now it’s down by 20 points because of two missed assignments when I actually took them!!!  I’m not happy about this.”

Then get up at 8:30, like everybody else.  Really, people?  How hard is it to log onto Canvas at 8:30?  We don’t do Zoom in my class so you don’t even have to get out of bed – you can log on to the Discussion Board at 8:30, in your pajamas, and remain under the covers.

The same thing from the male highschooler:  “But I did the work” meaning he took the quizzes at 9:45, 1 hour and 15 minutes after class started. And that’s all he did.  He didn’t listen to lecture at all. I copy-and-paste my basic “the importance of signing in on the Discussion Board” email and send it to him, too.

I offer both the opportunity of turning in their Extra Credit assignment late, for a 10-point deduction.  It makes me look magnanimous and I know they’ll never do it – too lazy.  If they can’t click a few buttons and sign in for attendance, there’s no way they’ll write a 2-page essay. So, they will still get a zero and I won’t have to grade anything.

The above takes 1.5 hours out of my day.

I make sure to take attendance for today, then notify those students who didn’t sign in on the Discussion Board that they were marked absent and received a score of 0 on today’s assignment. Class ended at 10:05 and it is now 12:30 when a student emails me that he forgot to sign in on the Discussion Board.  You forgot? After 15 weeks?  No.  The score stands.  You’ve earned 0 points.

12:30 – 1:00 - I have apple slices with almond butter and honey.

1:00-1:45 – A quick shower and Covid-19 uniform.

1:45 – 2:30 - I do some class prep for my 2:30 class and start catching up on attendance for my three classes at College No. 2.  I make sure course content is ready.

I post the Discussion Board, but since it’s the last day, they don’t have to sign in.  I will take attendance from the Final.  I tell them they can use the Discussion Board to say good-bye to each other instead.  Here are some of the things they wrote: 

“I just wanted to thank you for an incredible semester. It has been hard going all virtual but I enjoyed how different this course was. I hope that you stay safe and healthy through these tough times. Happy Holidays. :)”

“Thank You for such a great class Professor Coleman! I learned a lot and the format you created was manageable and interactive! I hope more Professors apply it in future online courses! Have a great winter break and happy holidays! :) “ Have a wonderful winter break and Happy Holidays to all my fellow comparativists!  :)

“Thank You for a great semester Mrs. Coleman, technical difficulties and all! Good Luck Everyone Stay Safe”

“Thank you for a great semester professor. I appreciated the whole lay out of the class you made it so much more understanding and less stressful thank you again. Happy holidays (:

“This was great Professor Coleman! I really enjoyed the podcasts, and overall learned so much about the global world from this class.“

 Thank you so much professor for such an amazing semester. You're spin on lectures through a podcast was an incredible idea and I loved coming to class every week. Hope you have a fun and safe holiday break. 

Thank you professor for a wonderful semester, I'll see you again in the Spring for Pols201! Good luck classmates on all your endeavors and good luck with finals. Stay safe everyone! Happy Holidays! :) 

2:30-5:30 – I spend the rest of class posting their grades from the Socratic Seminar and emailing their papers back to them, while they take the Final.  You know….the papers I’ve been grading non-stop for the past two weeks. Those papers.  The class ends.  Today was the last day of the semester.  I made it.  Only 5 more classes to wrap up - three at College No. 2; two more at College No. 1

-At 4:45, I break for dinner and have the last of the chicken soup that I made about a year ago and read a Money Diary.

5:15 – 6:45 - I clean and dust the downstairs – L. vacuumed last night – then I get on my hands and knees and scrub the floor in the living room. Once this section of the house is clean, we set out our Xmas decorations. They look great!

7:30-9:30 - I go back to work and post the Discussion Board for tomorrow morning’s class at College No. 2 – I also check course content.

-R. arrives. He and L. are working their way through the Toy Story franchise. R. brings me a peppermint hot chocolate.  Thanks R!!  Much appreciated.

I look for an online Distance Education certification program so I can teach fully automated online classes.  College No. 2 will reimburse me for it, but I have zero luck finding one online.

10:00-11:30 – I do a HIIT full body circuit, with 5-pound weights.    I listen to the series “Alone – a Love Story" while I work out.

11:30-12:00 – Night time routine. Bed.