[The Lone Ranger]

It is often frustrating to deal with students who have been taught to expect that they deserve an "A" just for showing up to class occasionally. It's frustrating to deal with students who don't do the readings, who don't do the assignments, don't even pretend to pay attention during class when they do bother to show up -- and then complain when they don't get good grades.

Goodness knows, I understand that all too well.

But there are limits, for goodness' sake!


Yesterday, one of my students happened to walk past my door, looking rather obviously distressed. So I asked him what was wrong.

He explained that the instructor for the class he'd just left had asked him a question in class, and he'd gotten it wrong. Okay, that happens. All too often, in fact.

Her response was to pull out a dunce cap, place it upon his head, and tell him that he had to wear it for the rest of the class. [Seriously, who has on of these or goes to the trouble of making one?]


I know the instructor, of course, and we've often spoken of how frustrating it is to deal with unmotivated and unprepared students. Years of doing so has left her bitter, to say the least.

But is public humiliation the proper response? It doesn't seem so to me.

I haven't spoken with the instructor about the incident as of yet, so maybe I'm getting a somewhat ... one-sided ... version of what happened. Even so, I'm finding it hard to imagine where such a response to a student's failure to correctly answer a question would be appropriate.

Heck, I know this kid; I've had him in two of my classes. He's not the best student I've ever had, but he's always been respectful and a decent student. I've never known him to be disruptive or anything. So I can't really see how public humiliation is an appropriate response to his failure to correctly answer a question.