Rigorous assignments and tough projects with my student population have backfired when I attempted them. I tried rigorous assignments and things got worse. They didn't attempt anything and many skipped class the following week. Group discussion does seem to work but not one of them will schedule time to meet with another person from class. It forces group work to be in class only. I have found that my students all have a "tough" personal life. Many are single parents of low income households and can barely make their rent. They prioritize carefully and put my class last. They work first, feed and care for their families next, attend class third, do homework for their major next, and I get the left overs from their attention after they get some sleep. I hear this from what I would say is more than 50% of my students. So, I don't feel they are being flippant but instead they have the weight of life to deal with. I'd put my class last too! So, given that information, might there be a way to modify my syllabus or curriculum to fit better with the situation?