It's October Eve already. I can't hope to catch up on all you've missed, good reader, and so I beg your forgiveness and offer you this anecdote.
Last week, my new boss and I disagreed on the meaning of "fair late work policy."
I expect work to be handed in on time, especially since I normally give at least one week's notice before anything is due. I spell this out, as well as when I do allow late work, in my course expectations. Of course, many students turned in the first homework assignments a day or more late. I accepted the work and gave them a score of zero rather than showing it as missing in my electronic gradebook.
One of my students complained to her mother that I was being unreasonable. I spoke with the mother on the phone and gave her both my policy and my strategy to inculcate a sense of urgency and promptness. Specifically, I know that my students will not turn in work on time, at least until they understand that I am serious about requiring them to do so. Therefore, I give simple assignments worth few points at the beginning of the semester. That way, when a student gets a zero for turning an assignment in late, his or her grade falls to an "F" but can be easily corrected by submitting later, more valuable assignments, on time. In fact, students who fail to turn in the first three assignments of the year can still come around and potentially get an "A" for the first quarter as long as they act on the understanding that I do not accept late work except under specific circumstances normally involving and excused absence or extreme family stress verified by a meeting or phone conversation between me and the student's parent.
My boss, an assistant principle by the name of Ms. C_, received a phone call from an aggrieved parent who asserted that my late work policy was not fair to her daughter, who was confused by the assignment due date (I brief due dates verbally, write them on the whiteboard next to the classroom door, post them on my classroom website, and remind students daily of upcoming suspenses). My boss worked hard to convince me that my policy was unfair and that in normal working conditions, bosses normally accepted work after it was due but with penalties attached. She asserted that this was also true in the military. I'm not sure where she got her information about the military attitude toward timeliness and meeting one's obligations at or before the required date and time.
In any case, she failed to convince me of her argument but, as her subordinate, I agreed to take on the late policy of Mr. S_, a colleague with high standards who is also supervised by Ms. C_. She agreed that would be an acceptable course.
So now I will take work one day after it is due but it will receive only 50% of whatever grade it would have received had it been turned in on time. Interestingly, Mr. S_ had the same policy I did: no late work, until Ms. C_ forced him to take on a policy she considered fair. Mr. S_ posted his policy as an addendum to his course expectations, but did not disseminate the information to his students. They have no idea they can turn assignments in late for half-credit; they turn their assignments in on time.
I suppose this is what passes for intrigue in this new profession of mine.
