Hello everyone:

I have three students who were trapped on their street by snow recently. They let me know, so guess how many points they lost for not being in class? None.

I have a student with a deadline this weekend whose husband was taken seriously ill this week. She emailed me this afternoon, to let me know she was struggling with getting her homework done in the face of her hubby’s hospitalization. Guess what she got? An extension of the deadline.

I have another student with the “excuse of the week..” In an eight week course, she had reasons every single week for why she was late on posting her assignments. Guess what she got? No extensions after the first two weeks of excusitis and no letter of recommendation saying what a wonderful student she was, because she wasn’t.

When H1N1 was a big problem, I had one student who got it 5 times…or so she said. She actually never got it at all but her symptoms always occurred when we had a major assignment due. Guess what she got? A poor final grade.

Problems arise.  Life happens. Make a Plan B so that, if Plan A fails, you have something to fall back on. Do keep your professor informed but don’t take advantage of him or her. It’s like losing your electricity. We lose ours every once in a while, so I have a Plan B, Plan C, and a Plan D, if my normal Plan A isn’t working.  Food for thought.

Best,

Dr. Sheri