EDUCATION

The Surprising Lives of College Students

Why it’s okay to give them a little grace

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When I began teaching college students a little over 15 years ago, I was told to be tough about cheating, plagiarism, late work, and a host of other things.

“Fail them from your course,” I was told.

“Take points off.”

“Don’t believe their excuses.”

“Their grandmother didn’t die; they were probably just hungover.”

It made students sound like they were devious people who were more interested in partying and getting drunk than gaining an education.

I felt like I had to become a classroom police officer, constantly looking for students with the same answers and constantly googling potentially copied material.

I did this for a few years. It was time-consuming, emotionally draining, and narrowed my vision of students and the teaching and learning process. But, truth be told, in each of those academic years, I always found two or three students who were breaking the code of student conduct.

So, depending on the particular offense, I failed some of them in my courses, gave zeros on assignments, or took off points for others, and I talked to most of them in my office.