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sick on the first day of a class ????


Pam L in Mid Tenn
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How do professors feel about a student being absent due to illness on the first day of a class??

 

I called and talked to the department secretary since I could not get in touch with the prof. directly. She said that there is a virus going around that seems to take about 3 days. DD18 isn't the only student that has missed this week.

 

Still DD18 is very concerned and so am I.

 

At this point I'm not sure if it is the virus going around or if it could be some symtoms from her other illness. :(

 

Anyone have any experience to share??

Thanks,

Pam

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May I just say that the student should call, not the parent?

 

On the first day of class, time is often spent on the syllabus and explaining expectations. That much your daughter should be able to glean from written materials that she can pick up later. But I think she should make every attempt to go to the next class and make a copy of someone's notes.

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Oh, I wouldn't wait until the next clss to pick up a syllabus from the professor. Many of them assign reading or some such to be completed in time for the next class meeting. And certainly, she should be the one to handle this. She's an independent learner now. Mommy doesn't need to hold her hand anymore. (I'm not railing at you, Mom, but rather encouraging her to be independent in this matter.)

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May I just say that the student should call, not the parent?

 

:iagree:

 

On the first day of class, time is often spent on the syllabus and explaining expectations. That much your daughter should be able to glean from written materials that she can pick up later. But I think she should make every attempt to go to the next class and make a copy of someone's notes.

 

:iagree: Tell her to email another student in the class and see if they can email her the syllabus (it may already be posted on a website such as Blackboard). Honestly, in most classes the first couple days aren't very crucial. If she did end up missing some notes and can't get them from another student in the class, then she can approach the prof about it.

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My dd got swine flu the first week of school last year. Her whole unit came down with it, so no one from her unit was allowed to go to class.

 

She just emailed every prof and most emailed syllabi to her. She said it was actually easier missing the first week, compared to her friends who got the flu at week 3. She didn't miss much, just introductory material. A few profs put her in touch with a TA who sent power points and notes. So, do have her email the profs.

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I am a college instructor. Students get sick, and I would not expect a truly ill student to show up for class.

I would, however, expect an email by the students, letting me know about her absence and asking for the course information. I would then email her the address of my course webpage and a link to any handouts, and wish her a speedy recovery.

An email is much better than a phone call. It does not interrupt whatever the instructor is doing, one can reply with written information, and both have a record of the interaction.

 

Having a parent call is just odd. Unless the student is severely ill/ hospitalized and unable to take care of this herself.

 

To the poster who wrote the first days are not crucial: that depends entirely on the class. There are classes where the new material and work start immediately; in fact, in our department's introductory courses the first homework assignments are collected on the fourth day of class, and missing a week will put the student seriously behind unless she takes the initiative to work on the material she is missing.

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To the poster who wrote the first days are not crucial: that depends entirely on the class. There are classes where the new material and work start immediately; in fact, in our department's introductory courses the first homework assignments are collected on the fourth day of class, and missing a week will put the student seriously behind unless she takes the initiative to work on the material she is missing.

 

I agree - at my son's college they are on a ten-week quarter system and had a quiz scheduled for the SECOND DAY of class, based on day one materials and readings.

 

They can get through 9 - 12 courses a year this way, taking 3 - 4 a quarter, rather than 8 - 10 at a semester school, taking 4 - 5 a semester.

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If your daughter was "green around the gills" about to....... well, upchuck...... wouldn't you have made the phone call for her? :001_huh:

 

No. As a former college instructor, I believe that it is imperative for the student to be the responsible party. I too would find it odd to have a parent providing an excuse for a member of my class.

 

If your child has been in a serious accident or is hospitalized, that is another matter. But an illness--sorry, no.

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My dd got swine flu the first week of school last year.

 

 

Ditto! My dd was feverish with swine flu, and literally too ill to get up from bed on the first Monday of the semester. Luckily she had had that instructor the previous semester, so she managed to e-mail and leave a phone message letting her know, and the prof said it was fine.

 

On Tuesday, she had a different class...she was feeling much better, and although we probably shouldn't have done it, we allowed her to go to class. If she hadn't - she would have been summarily dropped from the class, period, no questions asked. She said there were kids standing there waiting for spots in the class - the prof took roll - and announced the number of spots available to people waiting, based on the number of students who hadn't shown up.

 

This was at a California community college, where the budget cuts have made getting classes quite an ordeal. If she were a student at a private college, I imagine I'd just go the route of sending an email and phone call to the prof.

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If your daughter was "green around the gills" about to....... well, upchuck...... wouldn't you have made the phone call for her? :001_huh:

 

No, absolutely not.

I would have assisted her in formulating an email message to the instructor if she was insecure and had asked me.

But calling the professor? No way. First impressions are powerful - I would not want my child's instructor to remember her throughout the semester as the girl whose mother called. (And yes, especially with larger classes, the only way to remember all students is to cross-reference with some specific information you have about the specific student. That would be hers.)

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The same virus is in Pitt.

 

Dd missed her second day of school, first day for two of her classes, one understood, one was mean and said its your choice, but two affects your grade. She gave twelve hrs. notice.

 

So today we dropped that ladies class and she added an online class. But dd did notice, since she came to school sick, more people are getting the same thing.

 

Why the madness in spreading illnesses, we are such a techie society that showing up is futile imho.

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Sometimes students miss the first day because they haven't got their classes all figured out or they get lost or mix times up. Classes don't get finalized until after the first week. It shouldn't be a big deal as long as your child gets all the info from the first class.

 

If it was after the first class period I would email the instructor explaining the absence, but I usually get those emails from the syllabi. If it was a once a week class I would try and find the email elsewhere if possible.

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If your daughter was "green around the gills" about to....... well, upchuck...... wouldn't you have made the phone call for her? :001_huh:

 

As a freshman (many years ago) I missed the first week of the second semester. I was already back at school and was hit with appendicitis. So I was in the hospital for 4 days, then in the school infirmary for another 4 days. The nurses at the infirmary would not let me leave at all during my time there mostly because the walkways were icy and they didn't want me to have an accident. This was long before the days of email, so I couldn't even get a start on catching up that way. When I was released from the infirmary, I just had to do what I had to do to catch up as best as I could--visit profs, scrounge notes from friends. Most of my classes were the kind they held in large lecture halls with a separate recitation period. So none of my professors, except my ROTC instructors, even noticed I was absent. And the TA's didn't really care if you showed up to recitation or not.

 

 

Cinder

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Ok. I really feel blasted here.

Maybe I am just really exhausted from a really exhausting week.

 

1. The teacher for this one class is a part timer without an office on campus.

 

2. I talked with the secretary for the whole department. She did not even have the contact information for this particular teacher. No phone number, no email address. She hand carried a note to the classroom stating that DD18 was ill and would not be attending class. I did not call the professor and offer excuses for my daughter!!

 

3.... oh never mind.

 

I am just exhausted.:tongue_smilie:

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Ok. I really feel blasted here.

Maybe I am just really exhausted from a really exhausting week.

 

1. The teacher for this one class is a part timer without an office on campus.

 

2. I talked with the secretary for the whole department. She did not even have the contact information for this particular teacher. No phone number, no email address. She hand carried a note to the classroom stating that DD18 was ill and would not be attending class. I did not call the professor and offer excuses for my daughter!!

 

3.... oh never mind.

 

I am just exhausted.:tongue_smilie:

 

I am w/you, on the exhaustion end.

 

Having sick kids, first wk. of college and hsing one is tooo much. I feel like I was beat up by Ali.

 

If its any consolation if my dd was throwing up I would have called, I could care less what any professor thinks of me or my dd. Matter of fact, I went and picked up schoolwork for her, and I walk her to and from school every day. But on the upside my legs are looking awesome.

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I'm not picking on you Pam L (since you were in the situation where email was not an option), but it is true that college instructors do not like to have interaction with parents. Even when parents called my department secretary, there would be some eye-rolling in the department. Whether you like it or not, it can leave a negative impression--this isn't an issue with grades, but if your dc were to ask for a recommendation, the professor might not write as enthusiastically about the student's independence or motivation. Just an FYI from the other perspective.

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Gee whiz, folks I know y'all mean well, but how about sending Pam some virtual chicken soup till things ease up?

 

Pam, I'd tell your daughter to relax and focus on getting better so that she can get back on track. Speaking as a former college instructor myself, I'd say that if her absence or your phone call made a bad impression it's not the end of the world. She has the rest of the semester to prove herself and show that she's a responsible student. If there's a bug going around a lot of staff may be ill too and likely no one will remember. Most instructors are able to tell the difference between genuine difficulty and slacking.

 

One semester I had a married student who was expecting twins. By the end of the semester, her dh had to bring her to class in a wheel chair. I arranged to have her take the final in my office because she had an urgent dr. appointment during finals. And, yes sometimes her dh called me if she was sleeping or feeling especially ill during my office hours. Her grade was based on her test scores, class participation, and assignments.

 

If you like, pm me and I'll tell you about ds's first semester. He had a horrible case of the flu, his grandmother died, and we were sure the semester would be a disaster. We survived, but I'm still not sure how--:o

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Ditto! My dd was feverish with swine flu, and literally too ill to get up from bed on the first Monday of the semester. Luckily she had had that instructor the previous semester, so she managed to e-mail and leave a phone message letting her know, and the prof said it was fine.

 

On Tuesday, she had a different class...she was feeling much better, and although we probably shouldn't have done it, we allowed her to go to class. If she hadn't - she would have been summarily dropped from the class, period, no questions asked. She said there were kids standing there waiting for spots in the class - the prof took roll - and announced the number of spots available to people waiting, based on the number of students who hadn't shown up.

 

This was at a California community college, where the budget cuts have made getting classes quite an ordeal. If she were a student at a private college, I imagine I'd just go the route of sending an email and phone call to the prof.

CA community college here too...the policy is this: Drag your sorry self into the classroom even if you're half dead, because you will be summarily dropped from the class if you're not there the first day. :glare:

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so pardon me if I repeat others' sentiments and advice, but I have two kids in college, and missing a first class is SO not a big deal. The student should e-mail the professor, (to be added to Blackboard list OR be e-mailed the syllabus OR have professor bring copy of syllabus to second classs OR just show sincerity AND to make sure the seat does not get given away). The first week of college is quite important, but so many kids are still doing add/drop, and both of my kids (one at huge U, one a small U) have received nothing but positive replies from profs, and suggestions about how to catch up ("get notes from class mates", "I'll e-mail you my lecture"), and usually a nice "welcome to my class."

 

One post I read did caution about mom or dad making calls, sending e-mails, etc. I agree with that, absolutely. BUT, INHO doing it once will not tag your child permanantly. Profs are parents too and have seen it all. Big deal. I did it once, but once only. The prof forwarded an e-mail I sent to her(my child was hysterical over the prof threatening her with an F for a not-yet incomplete project, which was fine, but screaming at her in front of a whole class, was not) so I wrote her, very nicely, but I should not have. She forwarded the e-mail to a dean, who became my daughter's advisor, for the next 3 semesters, and it resulted in her having the BEST possible advisor (having had a really poor one, lady getting ready to retire) and an amazing resource and friend to go to, even now, for help. Truly things work out for the best. Arm your child with the names of his advisor, head of department, dean, etc., to write or visit himself, when the need arises.

 

 

Congratulations on having a child worried about missing class, actually in college, and I hope she feels much better very soon.

 

LBS

 

PS Many colleges and Us have an online form to fill out, for your child to request food to be given to a friend or room-mate, to be brought back to his/her room. Some might even deliver!

Edited by LBS
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