Am I a bad professor if I don't want to hear about the students disease that is causing them to miss my class? Bring me a note. I will excuse you and even express sympathy but I really don't need to know your medical history. Save it for your significant other and physician, please.
Cheers,
Beaker Ben
Short answer: no.
ReplyDeleteI can't find it, but there's one old one from the "goon" old days at RYS that said the student couldn't be in class because her boyfriend's uncle had a problem with his toe. (Or did I feverdream it?) I'd love to get one of those type of medical excuses, but I know what Ben is talking about. I'm not your caseworker.
ReplyDeleteSlight longer answer: Nope.
ReplyDeleteIn between answer - NFW. Some of the students really do overshare.
DeleteI especially hate it whenever a student wants to show me their infected body part. I refuse to look, and scream "NOOOO!!!"
ReplyDeleteI then explain that I'm a Ph.D., not an M.D. I don't have a medical degree or a license to practice medicine. I'm therefore not qualified to diagnose or treat any ailment, physical or psychological: it's not my job. The student will therefore need to get a note from the student health center or another health-care provider that documents that the student can't do work for my class, which is my job. I don't need to know the precise reason why, only that it was sufficient to preclude doing for for my class.
P.S. Not being an M.D., I probably wouldn't understand the technical details anyway.
ReplyDeleteYes, I am so tired of hearing *all* about it. Something bad will leave my lips mezzo forte someday, I fear, like, "I understand--I've read that STIs can really interfere with your work."
ReplyDeleteThe combination of TMI and having to play lie-detector has driven me to have a no-questions-asked make-up policy for exams, with the proviso that I choose the time for the make-up, and that it will normally be at the end of the term.
ReplyDeleteMaybe just put the weight for the missed midterm on the final?
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