I'm sorry you feel this is bordering on offensive that I don't feel I am paid to play games with my students. I am an adjunct instructor. I am given a set amount of time to teach technical aspects to a field that is constantly and rapidly changing. I am there to share my knowledge, my experiences, and prepare these students for what they are going to face in the real world...which these days ain't too pretty as we continue to pump out hundreds of people to fill dozens of jobs!
Of course the material is new to them. And those that come in and tell me they know everything about the subject I'm teaching, well...they learn real fast that they don't. But I'll utilize their knowledge as part of the class time and to help me if I'm busy with another student. The work they do will be much more difficult than that of the other students. I expect more, thus they're graded on a different scale...making my job that much tougher as well. That has nothing to do with the point that I won't take my class down to a grade school level to play a game or games to make my adult students feel more comfortable in my classroom.
I tell my students on the first day that I consider them adults. As such, I expect them to act like adults. Don't come to me and tell me they have to leave class because work just called them in early. Don't tell me they can't afford to buy the book but they drive around in a new car and buy $5 packs of cigarettes on a daily basis. Don't give me excuses for why they missed the midterm test ("I was so tired because I had to work last night and I just couldn't get up that morning" or "work called me in at the last minute and I had to do that instead") and expect to make it up. Don't miss a deadline and then expect me to grade on the same scale as others who turned their work in on time. Don't expect me to give them a good grade when each class they came in an hour late, or ask (sometimes demand) that I take my time to give them a private lecture so they can catch up. Don't ask me to write their notes for them ('why can't you just give us a handout like the other instructors do?"). It's not happening. And, for fear of being 'offensive' again, I really don't care. I tell them my class is their job and that I pay them for the work they do. If they are texting their friends, playing on facebook, working on projects for other classes, their grades go down. I will not beg them to do the work I assign. I pay them for the work they do, the manner in which they participate in the class, and mark down any and all infractions that cause their pay to decrease.
They know they have to take responsibility for their actions in my class. I have a schedule. I keep to it (in such a way as to cover all materials set for the course.....just not necessarily in the same time frame as on the syllabus). I joke with them, get them involved, build their confidence but reign them in if needed....but never EVER will I treat them as if they are grade school kids or have to be treated as such. When there is book work to be done, they work out of the book individually, calling me over to ask questions if necessary. I WILL not read the book to them. I will show them what they're going to learn and the book will back up what I show them, but I still have students complain that I don't read the book to them like the other instructors do. Sorry. I'm not a grade school teacher teaching them to read. They need remedial work, they can go to the people who are responsible for that.
You're right that I should not try to impress them with my understanding. Bottom line, I don't NEED to impress them with my understanding. I have written 15 books, trained people at the highest level of my industry, and have 40 years of professional experience; they have none. Who would I be impressing?
And I am not only paid to make them understand and be comfortable with the material and learn, I WANT them to be comfortable with the material, because if they aren't they won't last long in their chosen field. Not with the competition that's out there today. And I gladly give WAY more time than I am ever compensated for...to the point I have had to go to my clients and rework their contracts because I couldn't get their work completed in time. I've even bent over backwards to modify projects so they were more relatable to a student in hopes that they would enjoy working on it more and get something out of it. However, I don't do that any more, either, because it's teaching them that they can do whatever they want and not meet the assigned criteria in a work environment. "I don't like that project, I want to do something else", isn't going to work in the real world.
I like them to come up with grandiose ideas, but then I have them back down to a more realistic perspective. How much would that cost to make? How long would it take to produce? Can the client afford it? What can you do to bring the cost down while retaining the bulk of your idea?
Play games to make students feel more comfortable in a field that will eat them alive faster than Chris Johnson can run the 440? Sorry. Can't do it and don't agree with it. It's one concept that, in a collegiate environment, does not sit well with this ol' hard-***.
