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It was a good run, but I am happy to announce that my students finally broke their attendance streak I mentioned in my last post. On Monday, after the break, I had 100% attendance for the first time in eight weeks, meeting four days a week. I share this news with a mix of light-heartedness and a dose of concern. After my initial post, other faculty members expressed similar attendance challenges, highlighting the need for a broader university-wide conversation on the topic.
Amid these reflections, I found Emily Isaacs’ recent article, “It’s Time to Start Teaching Your Students How to Be a Student,” to be timely and relevant. Isaacs posits that students often come to college without the essential skills needed for success, such as time management, class engagement, and adherence to deadlines. She encourages us to clearly define our expectations, articulate the significance of learning activities, and offer feedback that encompasses both student behavior and academic content. By teaching these foundational skills alongside the curriculum, we can create a more inclusive environment that supports success for all students, particularly those not yet versed in the implicit rules of academia’s “culture of power.”