discriminatory statement?

[cbg]

Let's take an example.

Let's say you have a policy that if a paper is turned in one day late the student loses three points; if later than that the student loses half a grade.

Let's say that Sally, Chris and Joe all turn in their last paper of the year two days late and they all lose half a grade. Sally Chris and Joe have been treated the same.

Now, let's throw something more into the mix.

Sally has turned in every paper late all year and is a careless student overall with a C minus. Chris turned in one paper late early in the year; Chris is a single mother who works full time and is taking a full load this semester in an attempt to better her job prospects; she has a B average. Joe has never turned in a paper late all year; he is an A student; the night before the paper was due he was up all night when his son had to be taken to the emergency room.

Are you going to treat all three students the same?

 

[emrgtech]

clarifiction

Usually I drop the lowest grade in order to take care of emergencies. If a student is lucky enough and had no emergency, their lowest grade will still be dropped.

If more emergencies happen, like hospitalization, then "incomplete" grade is an option.

In short, I do make provision for exceptions, but I watch out so that students will not take advantage of my flexibility. Also, I consider all the exception at the end of the semester to make sure that similarly situated students are treated the same.

So I do try to treat everyone the same but I am aware that unforeseen situations may occur. This is one of the reasons that I thank the students. It also depends on them and on the information they give me to treat everyone equally well to the extent possibly.

 

[cbg]

And that is exactly why statements such as "I treat all students without discrimination" or whatever your statement is (I'm not going to go back now and find it) is totally unnecessary. You're NOT treating all students identically - of course not. You'd be an idiot if you did. OF COURSE circumstances matter. OF COURSE you're going to make exceptions for exceptional circumstances. You couldn't possibly treat every single situation identically and you'd probably end up violating the law if you did.

So what is the value of a statement such as you're trying to defend here? Bottom line answer - it has none. And it just might put the idea of discrimination into someone's head and make them wonder why you're disclaiming it when no one has suggested it. And that, my friend, is not a circumstance that's going to end happily for you.

Is the statement in and of itself discriminatory? No. Is it illegal? No. Is it a wise thing to be saying? NO. Can you still get in trouble for using it? YES.

 

[Proserpina]

I'm sorry, but exactly why do you think you have to add these - in my opinion "silly" - disclaimers at all?

You're inviting trouble to the party without needing to do so - again in my opinion.

 

[not2cleverRed]

Usually I drop the lowest grade in order to take care of emergencies. If a student is lucky enough and had no emergency, their lowest grade will still be dropped.

If more emergencies happen, like hospitalization, then "incomplete" grade is an option.

In short, I do make provision for exceptions, but I watch out so that students will not take advantage of my flexibility. Also, I consider all the exception at the end of the semester to make sure that similarly situated students are treated the same.

So I do try to treat everyone the same but I am aware that unforeseen situations may occur. This is one of the reasons that I thank the students. It also depends on them and on the information they give me to treat everyone equally well to the extent possibly.

You are really overthinking the wrong things. As others have stated, in making overly detailed statements, you are opening yourself to more problems, not less.

"Same" is NOT equivalent to "equal" and is not even "fair". For example, I expected my blind student to show mastery of the same concepts as the non-vision impaired students - but the blind student certainly didn't take exams under the same conditions - that would be unfair. Similarly, for deaf students, I tried to make sure they had a clear line of sight of visual presentations - because they can't hear my explanation, and who knows if the signer is translating accurately. By "similar", I mean that these students needed reasonable accommodations, but those accommodations are in no way the "same".

Your specific examples... could have been effectively dealt with saying a lot less.

Why not just say in your syllabus that you are abide by university policies, and that if a student needs an exception made, to please contact you as soon as possible. That you will only give a make up exam or extension for a documented excused absence, as defined by the university's rules? That's what I did - with a little wiggle room - giving some examples. Favorite example from one of my old professors was of the student who had to take the final in jail - so I'd just tell my students that story.

Are you very new to teaching?