In clearing out my dad’s home office after he passed away, I came across this note. The handwriting is his.
Clearly, some things never change.
This student in one of my dad’s Philosophy classes in the Fall of 1973 had missed class and gotten behind on the readings. Sound familiar? It seems that my dad had asked an advisor to contact the student – and in the age of snail mail, if you couldn’t get a student on the phone, you sent them a letter. I expect our advisor colleagues today would tell you that they have similar experiences – they can’t get in touch with a student on the phone so they send an email (or vice versa).
Whether it’s a land grant university and a student in a Philosophy class in 1973, or a large urban community college and a student in a Biology class in 2024, students will miss class and then promise to do better. Somehow, I find that reassuring. We often think our students are different, and of course in some ways they are. They have different strengths, and different areas for learning and growth. But in some ways, nothing has changed. Students have good intentions, they fall behind in the readings, they miss class, and then they promise to do better. Here’s hoping that Charles Peppers in my dad’s Philosophy class kept his promise. And here’s hoping that we’re as patient with our students this semester as my dad was, and that our students who need to are able to catch up and succeed in their classes.