Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness
We are all adults and adults can make responsible decisions. That means you are free to decide not to come to class. But along with this freedom goes the responsibility to suffer the consequences. You are responsible for whatever material is covered in your absence. If a teacher decides to give a test that day, or collect in-class work for grades, you are out of luck. You cannot ask me to "catch you up" on what you missed. I will not re-teach what I have already presented in class. You cannot ask me for handouts that you missed. I don't keep track of your presence in my class and often I have no idea which handouts were given out the day you were away. So please get your "buddy" to make notes for you, pick up handouts, and let you know what assignments were handed out during classes that you missed.
Calling In Sick
At school and at work, we are given a certain number of "sick days". At John Abbott, we are usually given the chance to miss four class periods in a term, if our class is a 60-hour class and if it meets twice a week. If you are sick, you don't need to worry too much because you can miss these four classes. Of course, if you miss information or in-class working time, you are responsible for making it up. That will not be easy for you. That's why workers usually struggle into work even when they are feeling lousy. Suppose you are very ill and need to miss more than four class periods to get better. In this case, you must speak to an advisor in student services. They will send an official form to your teachers and you will need to make alternative arrangements to complete the term. In extreme cases, some teachers at the college have not permitted seriously ill or hospitalized students to finish the term. That is their prerogative, but most teachers are very understanding about this.
Environmentally-Friendly
There are few things as demoralizing as working in a dirty environment. Please pick up your garbage when you leave the lab and make sure that you dump it in the garbage, not the recycling bin. Many times, I have to pick up snotty kleenex, gum wrappers, and unsanitary straws from the workstations. It's gross! Also, please don't put your chewed gum underneath the desks or under the seats of the chairs. It spreads germs and is completely disgusting. If you see someone else littering or being a slob, try asking them to put their stuff in the garbage. This is good practice for becoming assertive at work. After all, you don't want to have to live in their mess during the many hours a day that you're in class.
Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime...
You have to work with the same PDHT students for three years. It makes sense to get along with everyone. Not only that, it's also good practice for the workplace, where you will have to get along with many different personalities from many different cultures. Your boss might be the most difficult person to get along with... you will need to learn how to cope pleasantly with that type of person, too. Having different teachers with extremely different personalities gives you practice relating to people in positions of ‘authority'. Remember that your fellow students might not be your favourite kind of people, but it will do your career good to be able to get along well with everyone. People who have ‘charm' and personality get promotions—more often than people who get high marks in school!
©Susan Regan, Ph.D. May 1998