Getting Work Done

The New York Times carries an op ed by a college instructor - My Students Are Not OK - who finds that his students are having a variety of problems in getting their work done.* Some of the issues seem related to the pandemic and the switch to online education. But he finds that the problems did not go away with the return to in-person instruction.

In the end he concludes:

"I also feel compassion for my students, but the learning breakdown has convinced me that continuing to relax standards would be a mistake. Looser standards are contributing to the problem, because they make it too easy for students to disengage from classes."

That conclusion is absolutely correct. Any HR professional will tell you that the focus for supervisors always has to be on whether the work required is getting done or not. What is true for supervisors in the workplace is true for instructors in the classroom. You are not a therapist. You can't solve other people's problems. Getting drawn into the personal lives of students or employees - family problems, relationship problems, mental health problems, monetary problems, substance abuse problems, etc. - is like falling into quicksand. You can't and won't solve their problems. And you risk drowning in them. Yes, some accommodations can be made, but only if they are focused on the goal of getting the required work done. If students ask for accommodations, ask them how such accommodations will get the required work done. Make it clear from the beginning what the required work is and when it must be completed.

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*https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/13/opinion/college-university-remote-pandemic.html.