I told the students in my class today, impromptu-like, that they need to consider carefully before they step off into the world of graduate study. This was after I asked them to think about whether or not professors are normal people, and after I did an imitation of RB starting that Milton class several years ago on the bottom floor of Greenlaw. The discussion ranged wide, but essentially, I advised them to keep their wits about them and to keep their options open. Grad school can be a good thing, but even the best students aren't sure of where (or if) they'll land.
The end of the term is when classes begin to get a little loose in the joints, and also when the really strange requests start coming in, like the student who has missed 70% of the class meetings just now trying to explain that he had good reasons for being gone, like taking a job that conflicted with class time, etc., etc. I sympathize, I really do--but what goes unsaid for now is that they need to choose which is more important. If the work & money are important, then pursue that. If doing well in classes is more important, then pursue that. There are times that it's not possible to do both.
I wish that students would give term papers some thought before the week they are due. Not for my sake, honestly--I don't mind helping--but because it would be so much easier and turn out so much better for them.
I did tell the students this, too: that my interactions with them, dealing with the works we get to deal with, is the major payoff. So true. Sure as hell ain't the meetings.
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