"Attendance in this class is mandatory"

Just show up.

Attendance is mandatory.

It's right there, written out, in the syllabus. "Mandatory" is highlighted as well. And anybody who was there on the first day of class saw it.

Yet some people don't bother to show up. It's not too much of a time commitment. It should be a no-brainer.

By the end of the semester, I'll have several asking what they can do to raise their grades. It happens almost every time. And my response is that attendance is part of the course grade. It's mandatory. That means it's necessary.

"But what about an extra-credit assignment?"

What about it? Showing up to class all but negates anything like this happening. If I assign extra-credit for being to lazy to come to class, what lesson is learned? Well, besides me punishing myself with extra work at the end of a semester, when things are hectic enough as it is.

"Attendance policies are bogus!"

Really. Really?

If you call 9-1-1 to report a fire, but the operator says that nobody showed up at the fire department because they didn't think it was that important, you'd probably think they were crazy.

If you own a restaurant, but the staff didn't show up because they didn't think it was important enough, you'd probably wonder why you bother keeping them on the payroll.

Yeah, attendance is important. It's a good habit to develop.

Out in the working world, it's vital.

Just show up.

The Semester is Still Young!

Okay, so here's what happened today...

After my early morning class, I went back to my office to make a few corrections to my syllabi (my students are probably ecstatic that I've decided on office hours so early in the semester!). I made the corrections, saved them to my flash drive, and sent the updates to the department administrative assistant (Bonus! Now that she knows, I'll actually get a sign for my office!). I also posted the syllabi to my two classes that they pertain to.

Next, I thought I'd look up some interesting things to present for my 11:30am class. I teach another section of the same topic on Monday evenings, and with next Monday being MLK Day (no classes), I don't want my 3-days-a-week class to get too far ahead of my Monday-only class.

I found a couple of interesting videos and downloaded them to my flash drive - which I use a lot because I teach in Stillwater and in Tulsa, and I like to have everything with me no matter where I am on a given day.

I also made a "Tip of the Week" short presentation to show the class. Again, saved to the flash drive.

Do you see where this is heading?

By this time I'm pretty pleased with myself, being on top of everything so early in the semester.

Well, 11:15 rolls around and I knew I needed to get to class, but that I needed to make a quick bio-break. No problem. I grabbed my books, my travel mug (Oops! Empty!), and stopped at the restroom before heading down the stairs and across the street to when my class meets.

I got into the classroom early enough, booted up the computer, and went out to fill my travel mug from the water fountain while the computer did its start-up thing.

I got back to the classroom, it's 11:25, and I reach into my pocket for my flash drive.

Flash drive.

Uh, flash drive?

Where is my flash drive?

I checked another pocket - the one where I put my keys after locking the office door. No flash drive.

AAARRRRGHHH!!!

"Don't go away! I'll be right back," I told the class, still filing in.

I ran down the stairs, out the door, and back across the street to the building which houses my office, along with one of the slowest elevators known to humankind.

I ran upstairs (did I mention my office is on the 4th floor? No? Well, it is), unlocked the door, frantically looked around because the flash drive was not still in the computer, which is where I had it last. Or so I thought.

I started unloading my pockets.

I had cargo pants on.

Many pockets.

I found my flash drive in a pocket that I don't put things in.
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Unless, apparently, I'm in a hurry and not paying attention.
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Yeah, I had it all along.
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I ran back to class, put my flash drive in the classroom computer, and began class.

I showed them the syllabus pertaining to their class, and told them it was also uploaded to the class website.

I showed them the videos.

I showed them the Tip of the Week.

I spoke to them a little bit more about the class, things to expect, and assigned them a reading.

I let them go a little early.
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As they were drifting out, one student came up to me.
"I don't know if you know," he said, "but the syllabus you posted for our class is the one for your 8:00 class."
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Ah, the semester is still young!

Everything is Just Ducky!

Yep, that's me. With a goofy grin on my face.

Earlier this semester, I let time slip away from me and was 25 minutes late to class. My class. The one I teach.

It was a weird experience. The campus seemed deserted, even though it was a very pleasant Fall day. When I got into the Classroom Building (Really! We have a building named "Classroom Building" here) I noticed that the halls were nearly deserted. It was 2:20 in the afternoon and there should have been students and faculty scurrying about as classes let out and before the next classes began.

Something was wrong. My first thought was that somebody had pulled the fire alarm and everybody was outside waiting for the all-clear. But there weren't that many people outside as I had approached the building.

I made it upstairs to my classroom, noting other classes were filled as I walked down the hall.

Then I walked into my classroom, looking at my watch and noticing that it was not quite 2:30pm.

Hold the phone! 2:30!?!?! This was my day for my 2:00 class, not 2:30!

Of course, nobody waited around long enough to see if I was going to show up. I don't blame them. I was a student once and there was a kind of rule of thumb that you only stick around so many minutes if the professor was late and then assume he (or she - but for some reason it was never a she in my case) was not going to show up, then leave.

I could insert an excuse like "but then my Astrid app was bought out by Yahoo and dumped so my favorite to-do app that kept me on time for everything was no more," but I won't use that as an excuse.

I vowed to not let it happen again.


Fast forward to today - the end of the semester.

I was gleefully filling my little Christmas bucket (it's okay to mention Christmas on the Cyberwebs, right?) with candy canes to hand out in class today. It's the last day of my class for these students, and, being Dead Week at OSU, the only new material I had for them was candy.

Then I decided to put my Christmas Ducky bow tie on, so I went down the hall from my office to the restroom to make sure the tie was reasonable straight.

I came back to my office, where I had Christmas music playing on my Kindle Fire and I saw a post online that the Annual Stillwater Christmas Parade was canceled. What?! 

After the shock wore off (I mean, they've held the parade in colder weather and when it was actually snowing!), I put my bucket in my backpack, grabbed my textbook, and went to class, blissfully unaware of the time.

I walked outside into the late Fall crispy cold air and noticed that there weren't very many people out and about. But it was a pretty chilly day. 

I think I counted about three dozen snowflakes blowing around before I reached the Classroom Building. Certainly not enough to cancel a parade. Yeah, I'm a grown-up, but I still love parades!

Deja vu struck as I noticed the halls of the Classroom Building were noticeably empty. I walked up the stairs to the third floor and glanced at my watch - 2:25pm. Not a problem.

Whoops! It's Thursday. I am late for my 2:00 class. Again.

I chuckled as I walked into the empty room. I wrote an apology on the class web page, and uploaded my final PowerPoint presentation - three slides, wishing them good luck and congratulations to those graduating this Fall.

Apparently I don't always learn from my mistakes.
 
But I have plenty of candy canes. And a Ducky bow tie.