In parts of the world that have extended winters with long days of darkness there is mood disorder that can cause major disruptions in daily lives and the ability to function successfully.  The condidtion is known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).  Individiuals with SAD manifest characteristics of withdrawal, weight gain, excessive sleep, and difficulty in getting along with others.  They often appear depressed and lack the energy to perform many of their daily tasks.  Researchers have studied the condition and have created a number of treatments that seem to help the condition with the most effective being the coming of spring.

Career college students can have develop characteristics of a similar disorder that I call Course Apathy Disorder or CAD.  CAD starts to develop when students are about half way through the course and the assignments are starting to pile up, quizzes are becoming more frequent, and they are needing more hours for study.  Their personal lives are demanding more of their time and they are feeling like they can't catch up.  They have a mental image of themselves that includes a gerbil on an exercise wheel running as fast as is possbile and getting no where.  CAD is not a recognized disorder but is easily identified.  All educators have seen this disorder at one time or another.  So knowing it is coming instructors need to plan for how to cope with it.  Start each class with a quick discussion on the status of assignments.  This discussion will serve to remind the students that deadlines are approaching and they need to be making progress on their work.  Give them study guides for upcoming quizzes on colored paper.  Bright colors help to focus the students on the text that is printed.  Talk with the students during informal time so you have an idea of what they are facing outside of the classroom.  All of these efforts will help the students see that they can complete the work and be successful in the course.  One of the things you can do to help raise their spirits is to pause for a while in the course and have a break.  Have some snacks and let the students chat among themselves about things that are happening in their lives, what they did over the weekend, etc..   A break like this can do wonders with the student as they get to relax, socialize, and reset their minds.  Then they will be ready to go back to the course activities having worked on curing CAD.