Can I use my cell phone during class?
No. You must silence your cell phone, pager, and any other potentially noisy and distracting electronic devices while in class.
But what if I'm expecting a really important call?
*Sigh*
If it's really important, then set the phone on vibrate and sit near the classroom door. If the call comes during class, leave quietly and answer it outside. And you'd better not be lying about it being important. In fact, before class starts you should probably tell me that you need to leave your phone on before performing the steps outlined in the two sentences before the sentence before this one.
I know you don't give makeup quizzes or tests under any circumstances but can I have a makeup? I have a really good excuse.
No.
You didn't even let me tell you what my really good excuse is.
Doesn't matter. No makeup.
Your "No Makeups" policy is unfair!
It may seem unfair but it's as close to fair as you're going to get. In fact, I believe it is less fair to give makeup quizzes and tests.
Lemme 'splain:
Imagine that two students, Annie and Betty, both feel equally sick on a test day (assuming one could somehow measure that). Annie decides that she's too sick to take the test so she requests and is granted a makeup. Betty, who is just as sick as Annie, drags herself to class and takes the test at the originally scheduled time.
Because Betty is distracted by her illness she ends up doing poorly on the test despite having studied. Annie, on the other hand, does well because a) she took the test when she was feeling better and b) she had extra time to study. Furthermore &mdash and this is the important part &mdash I, the instructor, may never know that Betty wasn't feeling well in the first place. And even if I find out that Betty was sick it's too late to do anything about it because she already took the test. This isn't unfair to Annie, it's unfair to Betty!
The only reasonable solution to this conundrum? No makeups for anybody under any circumstances. Now, I know that people occasionally get sick so I allow students to drop some number of quizzes and/or tests before I calculate grades. This is the only way that I can try to be fair to everybody.
I know you don't take late homework assignments under any circumstances but can I turn in my assignment late? I have a really good excuse.
No.
You didn't even let me tell you what my really good excuse is.
Doesn't matter. No late homework.
This is starting to sound very familiar.
Your "No Late Homework" policy is unfair!
I knew this was starting to sound familiar. Please read my answer to "Your 'No Makeups' policy is unfair!" It's pretty much the same argument.
I missed a class. Can I come to your office hours and ask you to go over the entire lecture I missed?
No. I only lecture on course material one time. If you miss a class it's your responsibility to get the notes from a classmate, go over the assigned reading, and try to work on any assigned problems. If you do all of that and you still have some specific questions, then by all means, stop by my office to ask them.
I don't know anybody in class. Can I get a copy of your lecture notes?
No. My lecture notes are not complete. They are a very brief outline of what I'd like to cover in class. They will be of little help to you and are more likely to cause confusion rather than clear it up.
It would probably be a good idea to make a friend in class. Soon. Just in case.
You should post your notes online.
As I said in response to an earlier question, I don't have completely worked out notes. Much of what I do in class is extemporaneous.
What does "extemporaneous" mean?
I've never been good at math.
I'm not sure what you're hoping to accomplish by telling me that. Just do the best you can and I'll help you where I'm able.
Will the final exam be cumulative?
Yes. It says so right there in the course syllabus (which you should probably read).
Where can I get a copy of the syllabus?
Log on to the Marist iLearn web site and navigate to our course. There should be a link to the course syllabus there. If the syllabus isn't available yet, then wait. It will be there soon after the semester begins.
What's the deal with that little drawing on the bottom of this page?
That's a picture of me. The story of how it came to be (which is not a particularly riveting one, mind you) is on my personal web page. Click the little picture of which you speak and you'll be magically transported there.
Some of these aren't questions.
That's true. Good observation.
Do you have a stapler?
You're a college student. You should have your own stapler. You're going to have to staple, like, literally millions of assignments before you graduate. And when I say "literally" I mean not really literally. But it'll be a lot of assignments.
Just get a stapler. Ask someone to give one to you as an early birthday present.
And yes, I have a stapler.
Did I miss anything?
I think this question is best answered with a poem.
K. Peter Krog
Department of Mathematics
Marist College
Page Last Modified: Tuesday, 12 Aug 2008, 13:10:50