Friday, April 8, 2011
Weird End of Semester Requests
Hi all, Just wanted to mention to be on the lookout for any strange requests from students these next couple of weeks. As it is getting to the end of the semester, people are becoming barraged with many things to do, and for some, it drives them to a point of desperation. Yesterday, I received two requests for me to type papers for students. The answer to that is a big over- sized NO!! Why might someone request this, I mean, don't all students operate with the same integrity that got us here to college to become respectable intellectuals and members of the labor force? ...Nope. They don't. The sad reality is that many could care less. Sometimes end of the semester pressures get to students, especially those who may be already floundering in their academic pursuits. We may appear as a light at the end of the tunnel when they are operating on a deadline. So what could happen? Well, some of the following has already happened to me. You may get students coming up to you in the middle of appointments with other students, or you may get a request for a student to be squeezed in between appts. I have squeezed some students in if they just need something looked at really fast, but generally I advise against this because you never know what you are getting yourself into. They could need more work than five minutes allows. Here are some ways students could push the boundary and get more time than allotted: -"Can you look at this really quick, I know you have another appointment, but I have a deadline." -"Can you type this paper for me?" *(no joke, this has actually happened, they seriously just wanted a typer. This type of request we have to deny) -"This will only take 10 minutes." (Yeah right buddy) -"I have already had an appointment, but they just went over grammar. Can you look at this and tell me if it sounds right?" (bigtime smokescreen for more editing). -"I really wanted you, but you are booked up. Can you just look at this for me. (..."I really wanted you"... ? ... sounds kind of creepy). -"I'll do half and you'll do half (ummm...quid pro quo...=ILLEGAL, plus you are not the author) -"This is due at 1:00pm, who can I get to look at this?" (Um... yourself if were all booked) - "I was in here earlier, and my friend has an appointment but can't make it. Can I take her spot? (easy way to try to get two in a day). -"Help me I'm desperate" (Aren't we all?) So just to sum up, it may get a little strange with desperate people coming in, but if we are firm and stick to our guns, students will begin to recognize what the boundaries are, and the students who have followed procedures correctly will be able to get the assistance they requested.
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2 comments:
Rebecca, in my 4 years at the writing center I have never had anyone ask me to type a paper for them, but I am not at all surprised that it did happen!
I think your post was really thoughtful and brought some serious issues that we all could face to light. The important point to remember is to stick together and protect each other from falling into the traps that sometimes clients may try to put us in because they are too stressed out.
Yep. Very true. Its a really good point that you made about sticking together and protecting each other from falling into the traps. Maybe it happened to me this year because this is the year that I am more conscious than ever about boundaries in what I can and cannot do for students, so I am now being tested:)Lol:)
Another thing that I have found is helpful is protecting your time even when you are not in the writing center. I discovered the other day that I was, and still am booked for tommorow. When I scanned my schedule to see what was going on, I realized it would be a heavy load, not just because of the amount of appointments, but because the nature of each student and what they are working on would be completly different, which would require a lot of mental shifting of gears at the onset of each appointment. So I realized that tommorow moring, I have to just rest up and eat well, because I will be needing a lot of energy to keep focused with each student. I have seen how the boundaries on time can allow me to do this. Seeking to conserve on time an energy I think, will make me a much better (if not, at least more alert:) person for clients to work with:)
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