Don't get me started. Hits too close to home, both as a parent and a professor.
In one class I gave most of the class D's and F's. The exam was open-book, open-notes. I uploaded all test and homework solutions to the class website. All I did was take the old tests and change the numbers. If they're too stupid to do well under those conditions, they need to be flipping burgers. I couldn't believe how many D's and F's I gave in all of my classes this semester. The registrar told me that it wasn't just me - he was amazed at how bad the grade rosters were from all professors.
Just walking through my daughter's sorority house makes it clear to me why many students do poorly. Their rooms are total chaos, a toxic waste dump of dirty clothes on the floor, half-eaten food everywhere, partially-drunk Diet Coke cans everywhere, no evidence of any time management skills or organization. Their moms aren't there to keep things in order, so they now live in a cesspool because many of us spoiled them too much when they lived at home. They stay up too late and then sleep as late as possible, so they're tired after class and take naps. They don't eat healthily. Again, this is just from my observations of girls at the sorority house and from overhearing their conversations. It's difficult to do well under these conditions.
I was bemoaning this topic with my doctor (and friend) - both he and his wife are Duke grads and high achievers. He says that he is disgusted with his kids. He blames himself for spoiling them, but he thought he was doing the right thing, using the mentality that they shouldn't have to struggle as hard as he did. But now in retrospect, he thinks that they feel entitled to all of the benefits of college (like a degree) without doing the work, so he regrets making life so easy for them. But obviously it's too late.
