Changing Lives by showing empathy
I believe that empathy must go hand in hand with each course that is being taught. However, it is imperative that the student know that trust is the ultimate goal of the student. Empathy will help student to develope in all areas of learning. The instructor must still expect the student to meet deadline by completing assignments.
Henry
Henry,
You make a good point and one that needs to be remembered in working with students. They must do the work and put forth the effort no matter the circumstances.
Gary
Hi Henry,
I agree with you that there will be student(s) each term in each course that may need empathy. In this regards, there are always someone that will try to get over on an instructor and this is where the "trust" comes in as you stated.
I have always post an annoucement entitled "Instructor Expectations" along with the syllabus prior to class starting. On the first day of class, I always send an announcement to all students asking them to read all announcements that have been posted to date. Within my "Instructor Expectations" announcement, as a gentle reminder, I listed in bullet forms that all assignments are due by 11:55PM of the due date and late assignments will not be accepted.
Only in special circumstance, I will let a student make-up an assignment or test. However, in my note back to the student, I always tell them that the make-up is "a onetime favor only."
Totally agrre that empathy must go hand in hand with whta is being taught ,but for empathy there must be trust. Being empathetic towards a student shows them that your are giving them a chance to succeed ,that bad days and situations happen to everybody ,but that overall we have (or the student) have responsabilities to meet in the course.
