Reluctant Student Reactions:
1. The unbelievers get mad and challenge the test. Some even demand to re-test.
2. Those who are mad about the test, enroll and don't stop griping about it.
3. The semester begins and students are reminded they must pass the class and it stirs up their emotions enough that everything the instructor says, no matter how positive the words or inspirational the message is delivered.
4. Several classes go by and students become belligerent and verbally attack the instructor with comments like, "You work us too hard. I didn't want to take this class anyway. Is this something you came up with or do we really need to do this because I am going to have to quit my job to keep up with all this garbage you gave me!"
5. Students go into other classes in "packs" and gripe about "having to take that class" and never address the issue properly, instead spreading venom and ill-will. Even if the other instructors try to help mediate and address the problem. (A sure sign the students know nothing will change, and they don't want to let the fact of the matter that they must do it go.)
In short, these students are killing the messenger. Their dean, admissions representatives, and instructor did not decide they needed to take the class. Their ABILITIES dictated what needed to happen. The instructor usually is working from an institution-approved syllabus that sets what must be covered to get these students up to speed. Still, all verbal attacks are directed outwardly (at the school or the teacher) instead of students taking a moment and saying, "Okay. I don't like that I have to do this, but I know I can and I'll prove to them this is easy for me and maybe in the end, if it isn't, I'll learn something I can use in my future."
How to resolve the problem?
1. Head-on. One dean went into an instructor's class and said, "Who is mad they have to take this class?" Then was sure to add, "Well, this is required and somehow/someway you showed as deficient. You're already on the way. I want you to be competitive in the market. To be competitive you must have the best skills and to let you move forward without knowing this is a disservice to you. Anyone who let you do so did not have your best interest at heart." Some students liked this meeting and owned up to the reality it was a necessary step in moving into their career of choice. Others did not.
2. Be honest. If a student still can't "get with the program" and the message is that the hurdle is required to move forward, that student simply will not move forward. That may mean dropping out of school altogether. Although the instructor, dean and institution do not want this to happen, sometimes a student just is not ready.
3. Those who drop out because they don't want to take that remedial/prep class may realize down the road that they DO need to get such training to move forward and when the discomfort of life becomes unbearable, then, and only then, will they say to themselves, "I need to make a change and if that means I need a preparatory class to get where I want to go, I'll do it." I know one student who did so and admits, "I refused the first time because I thought I knew it all and it was a waste of money. Then, I realized I hated my job and wanted more for my life. I went back and took it. I learned a lot that teachers either never taught me before or I had just missed it."
In the end,
if you are angry over having to do something you do not want to do,
it is probably out of fear. Change is difficult.
No one wants to be unsuccessful or labeled as stupid or less-than in any capacity.
Realize no one is labeling you
and that class you don't want to take is
your ticket away from that label for the rest of your life.
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