Excuses...And Our Love Affair with Them

So this week marked two important time periods in the lives of students across the country. First, it's the end of the semester for college students. Final exams are wrapping up and students are heading back home to their sponsors..oops..parents. Second, it was progress report (and parent-teacher conference) time for many K-12 students.

I've been fortunate enough to get my feet wet in K-12 education this year, in addition to my duties as a college professor. One of the things that always bothers me about this time of year on the collegiate level is the number of negotiators. Those are the students who didn't do what they were supposed to do throughout the year and now, because they need to pass the class to graduate, maintain a scholarship, or stay out of trouble at home, want you to provide them some "extra credit" to help boost their grade to an acceptable level. I personally loathe this time, as do a lot of colleagues I've spoken to. Instead of being accountable, students think that their under-developed negotiation skills are enough to influence a professor to take pity on them and give them a grade they didn't earn. It's even somewhat amusing at times (stay tuned, that's another forthcoming book).

The problem is there is always an excuse. An excuse about why they didn't come to class all semester (except the first week), why they never turned in a homework assignment (but deserve an 'A' cause they REALLY know the material..seriously..), and why you should understand that they have other things to do than just work for your class (like hang on the yard, go to parties, talk on the phone, and tweet and Facebook their friends..seriously, this class is a disruption to the bare necessities).

The one thing I love about college life is the FERPA. I don't have to interact with parent unless explicitly given approval by the student. So usually, I don't interact with parents. However, now that I'm experiencing a taste of K-12 education, I realize where the excuses originate..the parents. See, the kids usually don't have a lot of excuses about why they didn't turn in an assignment. I tell my middle-schoolers just like I tell my undergraduates, "if it's late, it's a 0, plain and simple. You have rules and you must follow them." Usually, the students will abide by this. They don't have homeworks and, when asked why, they simply respond "I just don't" or "I didn't do it." But my recent encounters during parent-teacher night have convinced me that there is a large subset of parents of this new "Generation Lost" that are making excuses for their children before the kids can even spell the word.

Let me share some of the responses/excuses I've received from parents:

1. You are NOT teaching college students. These are 7th graders. (My response: Ma'am, turning your assignments in on time is what you are taught in Kindergarten...it's called accountability).

2. My child was WELL aware of your deadline of 12pm today and has been working on the assignment since it was assigned. However, he was in an open house all day today and forgot to submit his homework. Can you please provide a 24 hour extension? (My response: The assignment was extended last week to this week, making a total of 2 weeks to submit...No)

3. Can my child make up the past due assignments or do extra credit to boost his grade? I'm just now able to view his grades online and am trying to stay on him. (My response: No, students have been aware from the beginning that I accept no late assignments. Your child must follow the same rules every other student does)

4. Student: I turned in my homework, I DIIDDDDD. Parent: Well, if she said she turned it in I believe her. I used to believe the teachers first but I've learned if she said she did it she is telling the truth. (My response: You mean like she was telling the truth that she turned in the homework that she just dug out of her bookbag that was never submitted???)

It doesn't take a genius to notice the running theme here. Parents are creating the monsters that K-16 educators have to deal with, a generation of students who not only don't do the work, but make an excuse about WHY they didn't do it and then EXPECT educators to provide them with a grade they didn't deserve. Parents, stop making excuses for why your child can't or won't do something. You are handicapping your kids before they even have an opportunity..more importantly, you're pissing off a world of educators in the process. We can only do our job when in the classroom. It's your responsibility to do your job at home.

See, these kids grow up into young adults who now make excuses for themselves, because they've been taught they don't have to earn anything. They can negotiate. When this doesn't work, they've been taught to complain and attack anyone who holds them accountable. These same young adults turn into employees who maybe can con their way into a career but won't be able to stay long because there is always an excuse about why they didn't get something done, why something went wrong, or why they juuuuuuust can seem to accomplish a task that a freshman in college should be able to complete. Again, it turns to finger-pointing and attacking..


So parents, do us all a favor and start teaching your child to be accountable for his/her actions both in and outside of the classroom. My dad is a retired public school educator and administrator. The BEST quote I've heard was from him this morning. "Don't making excuses for your kids. They already make enough for themselves."

And there you have it. Want to know more, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and my website!

Until next time!

Computer Science for Middle School Students???

This is my 6th year as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Systems and Computer Science at Howard University. We have a great relationship with Google, and we also house a public charter middle school on campus (The Howard University Middle School of Math and Science).

One of the new and exciting initiatives we have partnered with both Google and the middle school to create was a year-long computer science curriculum for 6th-8th grade students. This program is called the Partnership for Early Engagement in Computer Science (PEECS). PEECS is exciting not only because of the tremendous partnership we've formed, but also the curriculum we've developed.

I neglected to mention that the middle school (also known as MS2) is approximately 97% African-American and 3% Hispanic. In computer science (and STEM in general), these are two minority groups that are GROSSLY underrepresented. Part of the reason is lower performance in math and science courses at any earlier age, that extends through high school and their interests in these subjects. The other reason is lack of exposure to these disciplines. As a result, these students are not prepared to pursue the necessary high-school courses to prepare them for college studies in computer science.

Another major problem with African-American and Hispanic student interests in computer science is they don't feel like this is an area that they readily see themselves in. Think about it. How many African-American or Hispanic computer scientists do you know, or can name? Instead, the field is viewed as White and Asian male-dominated field.

PEECS is designed to change this. First, by working with Google, we are leveraging a program they developed called CAPE, which was designed to expose rising 9th graders to computer science through engaging activities throughout a 4-week summer. PEECS is bridging the engagement with curriculum. Not only are we teaching CS, but we are also doing it through hands-on activities and experiences that students can relate to and understand. One of the most important components of PEECS is that we created a culturally-relevant curriculum to teach students computer science.

Through this culturally-relevant curriculum, we hope to help students not only better understand computer science fundamentals (problem-solving, logic, programming, networking, Internet design, mobile application development, and robotics), but also show them how CS is already a part of their daily lives.

We officially kicked off the program last week with 120 6th-8th grade students in 6 classes. We have two CS faculty (myself and department chair Dr. Legand Burge), two undergraduate and two graduate CS students. We had a few technical difficulties, due to firewall issues, but have now resolved those, and are completing the assessments this week. Stay tuned for an exciting journey called PEECS!!