The Dude wrote:I think he's saying if he's able to do the work, attendance shouldn't matter

One does work in a well run class. There's no reason why class attendance is a less reasonable requirement than the ability to memorize a bunch of vocabulary words. Or anything else.

Going to college is a contract. You are paying them for services, and in turn you are agreeing to abide by their rules. You can't dictate the cheating policy, what percentage grade constitutes an A, the attendance policy, the dates that classes start and end, the days of the week and times of your classes, and you can't take 40 Biology classes and expect to graduate with a degree in English.

It's that simple. You agree to abide by that when you pay them.

I think the problem is each teacher I've had has had different policies on attendance.

I missed the part where he missed the day he was supposed to speak. I wasn't defending his decision, just that his argument was misconstrued but I messed the whole thing up

That's ok man. Have a vodka club. Ima go get a refill and watch the end of the Mets game.

Whalt Whit tonight

The Dude wrote:He already said he has 1 speech a month

I would imagine feedback from other students is also an important part of a public speaking class. I thank god for all the slack I've ever been given, since I used every inch, but I think Crash lacks a case here, especially if the policy was spelled out.

just go to class genius

I just got an email from my dad wanting to know if I have a Twitter account.

swishnicholson wrote:

The Dude wrote:He already said he has 1 speech a month

I would imagine feedback from other students is also an important part of a public speaking class. I thank god for all the slack I've ever been given, since I used every inch, but I think Crash lacks a case here, especially if the policy was spelled out.

already had a mea culpa moment

The Dude wrote:

swishnicholson wrote:

The Dude wrote:He already said he has 1 speech a month

I would imagine feedback from other students is also an important part of a public speaking class. I thank god for all the slack I've ever been given, since I used every inch, but I think Crash lacks a case here, especially if the policy was spelled out.

already had a mea culpa moment

Oh, so I suppose piling on is somehow WRONG now?

i have the urge to throw out BSG phrases in real life sometimes.

for example, instead of "wait, what the f***?" i sometimes want to just say "peck peck" *shrug*
(the shrug is included with the phrase)


yeah.

I did not know Walt Whitman was a temperance person.

N&&& W Afrosheen

Well, I missed the class more out of courtesy because I was sick, and would have been coughing and sneezing through others' speeches, which were also being video taped. I could have been a d1ck and went to class to wait to be kicked out, but I didn't. :?

Additionally, my beef is that I could have made up my speech like some other students did that day but my professor wouldn't allow me since I've missed more than three days and they haven't.

I don't necessarily buy Vox's logic that since one doesn't dictate the cheating and grade policies, one also has to abide by attendance policies. They're apples and oranges as far as I'm concerned. I don't enforce the policies myself, whereas I have control over attendance and it may have an effect in other areas of my life.

Should a college have a right to tell a student to dump his or her child off on a babysitter (who costs money) while you attend one of the many boring lectures of the semester, or that one can't take a day off to get the car fixed?

I'm not paying the school to teach me to show up consistently and on time; I'm paying them for a piece of paper that has value to future employers that signifies that I have a mastery in my chosen field. Showing up to class is only tangentially-related. If there's no correlation between showing up to class and mastery of the material -- which is my case -- then I don't see the point in setting these policies.

I'm biased, of course, being on the short end of the attendance policy stick, so maybe I should try harder to remove myself from the picture but I just don't see the rationale here.

If you ever catch on fire, try to avoid looking in a mirror, because I bet that will really throw you into a panic.

CrashburnAlley wrote:Well, I missed the class more out of courtesy because I was sick, and would have been coughing and sneezing through others' speeches, which were also being video taped. I could have been a d1ck and went to class to wait to be kicked out, but I didn't. :?

Additionally, my beef is that I could have made up my speech like some other students did that day but my professor wouldn't allow me since I've missed more than three days and they haven't.

I don't necessarily buy Vox's logic that since one doesn't dictate the cheating and grade policies, one also has to abide by attendance policies. They're apples and oranges as far as I'm concerned. I don't enforce the policies myself, whereas I have control over attendance and it may have an effect in other areas of my life.

Should a college have a right to tell a student to dump his or her child off on a babysitter (who costs money) while you attend one of the many boring lectures of the semester, or that one can't take a day off to get the car fixed?

I'm not paying the school to teach me to show up consistently and on time; I'm paying them for a piece of paper that has value to future employers that signifies that I have a mastery in my chosen field. Showing up to class is only tangentially-related. If there's no correlation between showing up to class and mastery of the material -- which is my case -- then I don't see the point in setting these policies.

I'm biased, of course, being on the short end of the attendance policy stick, so maybe I should try harder to remove myself from the picture but I just don't see the rationale here.

Vox's point is that it doesn't matter whether you agree with the policy -- you're implicitly agreeing to all of the school's policies by attending. If you don't like the attendance policy, go to a different school.

That said, I don't think it's far-fetched to imagine that class attendance could be indicative of a certain aspect of work ethic, perhaps, which prospective employers might find valuable.

phatj wrote:Vox's point is that it doesn't matter whether you agree with the policy -- you're implicitly agreeing to all of the school's policies by attending. If you don't like the attendance policy, go to a different school.

That said, I don't think it's far-fetched to imagine that class attendance could be indicative of a certain aspect of work ethic, perhaps, which prospective employers might find valuable.

My attendance doesn't show up with my degree, though. I can put it on my resume or attach a copy of my transcript (which I don't think logs attendance, oddly).

I don't disagree with your points, though, that it can indicate a good work ethic. That's certainly true. And I'm really not one to just skip class, it just so happened that I racked up more than the allotted amount this semester due to unforeseen circumstances.

Yeah, Vox is right in that regard that I am implicitly agreeing to their policies. I'm going to try and talk to some higher-ups about resolving this situation so maybe I can become a trailblazer and get the attendance policy changed while I'm at it. I'm so cool.

MMM MMM MMM MMM

I actually think having a university attendance policy sucks. I think it's ridiculous to miss class for an uncle's funeral, but if you're on a winning streak at the black jack table, that's a good reason to miss class.

But really, it doesn't matter. My point is what happens in class does count. Frankly, I think engagement in what takes place in class matters a whole lot more than some dopey exam. Engaging in class is a lot better preparation for real world life than your ability to regurgitate a bunch of facts that later in life you'll just look up if you need them.

In my ideal world, there wouldn't be any exams--the grade you get would be based entirely on your class activity. You do some reading or some research, and you come to class prepared to discuss it.

If your life interferes with your ability to attend regularly, than tough. In my experience, the non-trads with kids have a much better track record in attending class that the traditional students. I know how hard my mom worked as a non-trad, and while it took her a bit longer than 4 years to finish, she would have had a 4.0 if it weren't for some art class.