Dad speaks out re: standing in class

My father writes in with family news and offers his opinion on the stand-up student:

A word about the issue of standing in class.

When I was in the Air Force, the policy for the various schools I attended, including the Senior NCO Academy, was that if a student felt he/she was feeling sleepy, that student was to stand at the back of the classroom with whatever materials necessary (notebook, textbook, etc.) for that class. Note the buzzword if you will... "policy." My suggestion would be to institute local policy for your class(es), similar to what I've just related. By standing at the rear of the classroom, the other students aren't distracted. By your having outlined the policy on the first day of class (and possibly providing that policy in writing as a handout to the students), everyone would understand the rationale of the student electing to stand at the rear of the classroom. Just a thought...

The student told me today that she's now trying to get some extra sleep. Good. As happened yesterday, she remained seated the entire period, and when leaving the classroom she said, "Thank you for your great teaching!"

I'm impressed with the loyalty of the first Level 2 class of the day (7:40AM), but am wondering what's going on with my second Level 2 class, which has been rather slack in attendance by comparison. All my other classes are doing well; CNN seems stable, as do French and Pronunciation, and my final Level 2 class is also holding steady. It's just that damn 8:50AM class that's giving me the shits right now.

Ah, well. Can't expect perfection.

As for developing a policy about standing in class... I might, but this is the first time in three years that I've ever received such a request.


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