Student Emails, Flaming, and First Night Ass-Kickery

A few days ago, a friend and fellow teacher sent me a link to an article that describes a recent teaching-related occurrence, and I'm curious what y'alls think of it. Here's the nutshell version of the story (the link is below):

An NYU Business School professor named Scott Galloway (see photo... seriously) had a recent email exchange with a student who walked into his class one hour late on the first night. Galloway stopped his lecture, explained to the student that such extreme tardiness violated policy, and then asked that student to leave. The student sent Galloway an indignant email afterwards. The student himself didn't end up actually enrolling in the class, but still felt the need to send one of those "just so you know..." sort of emails -- I guess hoping his complaint would pluck at a cello string of guilt deep within Galloway's psyche.

Awesomeness ensued when Galloway sent a reply, and then the correspondence spread over ye olde interwebs.

Part of me believes that Galloway is now officially the Chuck Norris of academia, in a good way. Another part of me wonders. (Yet another part of me wants to know what exactly is up with the whole Braveheart situation happening in Galloway's photo above. I'm pretty sure it wasn't something he wore to class -- in addition to teaching in NYU's MBA program, he's also the founder of redenvelope.com, so odds are he was doing some sort of marketing-related thing. Still. The pic implies that there's possibly something douchy in Denmark, no?)

I've received more than my fair share of complaint emails from students who feel I require too much of them in class (show up, show up on time, show up with the stuff that's due). My replies are more succinct than Galloway's. Yet mine don't typically display such ninja-like, ass-kicking artistry. Plus, I have yet to tell a student, in writing or in person, to "get his shit together." Although I'm often tempted.

Here's the article:

"NYU Business Professor Has Mastered the Art of Email Flaming."

Appropriate? Inappropriate? Line crossed? Do students even learn from situations like this?

Thanks to Andrea H.W. for posting this. Andrea has been a friend of mine since high school. This is why I'm still on Facebook.

The Six Steps of Plagiarism (Thoughts on Cheating, Part Deux)

I posted some thoughts on plagiarism (J'Accuse!) a couple months ago. The new semester has hit, I've just collected the first big assignment from my students... and I find myself really really really really needing to share a little more.

Decades ago, Elisabeth Kubler-Ross introduced her theory of the five stages of grieving -- you've heard them. They take you neatly through from Denial to Acceptance, with fun-filled stops along the way (Anger Town, Depressionville, etc.).

After serious, big-time research, I've determined that there's a similar process students go through once they've been caught cheating -- but with a few extra steps in there. Some students are able to move through the stages more quickly than others, but I swear you'll see them all if you pay attention. Teachers, back me up.

The Six Stages of Plagiarism:

1) DENIAL

Teacher: You plagiarized on this paper.

Student: No I didn’t.

2) IGNORANCE

Teacher: You cut and copied these paragraphs from an article, pasted them into your own paper, and tried to pass it off as your own work.

Student: Wait a minute -- THAT’S plagiarism???? I had no idea. If I’d know that was plagiarism, I never would’ve done it. Now I know. Sorry. My bad.

3) BLAME

Teacher: We talked about plagiarism in class. You knew what you were doing.

Student: You forced me to plagiarize by having so many essays in this class. I didn’t have time to write it right. This is your fault.

4) GUILT

Teacher: Blaming your teacher really isn’t a good idea. This is very serious.

Student: Ok, you’re right. I’m really sorry. I feel awful that I did this.

Teacher: We need to talk about the ramifications of what you've done.

Student: I’m really, really sorry. You’re totally right. I have no excuse. (Sniffle.) My parents are going to be so mad at me. I totally deserve to fail your class.

Teacher: Yes.

5) BARGAINING

Teacher: You now have an F in the class. You’ll have to retake it next semester.

Student: Wait. Seriously? Hold on. Is there anything I can do to make this better?

Teacher: No. You cheated, so now we have to deal with the repercussions.

Student: Can I rewrite it?

Teacher: No.

Student: Can I rewrite it for partial credit?

Teacher: No.

Student: Is there any extra credit I can get later?

Teacher: No.

Student: (Long pause) So what are you saying?

6) ACCEPTANCE

Teacher: I hope this teaches you never to plagiarize again.

Student: (sullenly) Whatever.


Teachers, check it out next time you bust someone. You know I'm right. P.S. You can go here for Plagiarism Thoughts, Part One.

Next time: “Eight Creative (and Fun) Ways to Use Emotional Blackmail in the Classroom."