I love teaching. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t do it. I’m an adjunct, so I don’t make much money. I certainly don’t make much money compared to the hours I work outside of class for the courses I teach.
I like my students. I like people in general.
All that said, I’ve still had students, and semesters, from hell. So I pad my syllabus. I really do want my students to do all the work on it. I expect them to do it, too. But, if the class doesn’t drive me crazy by being disrespectful and rude or never coming on time, I will drop the lowest of the mid-range paper grades. I won’t drop the hardest two papers, sorry. I won’t drop the easiest papers, either. But I have five mid-level papers and I will drop the lowest of those… that is not a 0.
I want all the work done, all the writing written. But I am willing to admit, no, eager to admit, that sometimes life interferes and what you hoped would be a good paper wasn’t. So, if you’ve written all your papers, you can drop the lowest. But I won’t drop a 0. You didn’t do that paper. You didn’t even try. So you deserve that 0.
I don’t tell the class I’ll drop the paper at the beginning of the class, though. I don’t want people expecting to drop their lowest grade. I’m afraid then they won’t try on one and when they NEED it, they won’t have it.