Self-fulfilling prophecy? Excuses for failure

You've heard the joke about the college students who after an evening of partying missed a final exam, claiming a flat tire. The professor told them they could make up the final on the following day.  At the final, the professor placed them in separate rooms, handed each of them a test booklet and told them to begin. The first problem, worth 5 Points, was on the subject matter. The next problem was worth 95 Points. It asked: "Which tire?

A NY Times article highlighting ego protection and lowering of expectations suggests that some students protect their failures and lack of achievement through self-handicapping. Excuses ranging from "I didn't buy the textbook" to "I overslept" are just the tip of the iceberg as students engage in self-defeating behaviors that evade success. If allowed to continue unfettered, self-handicapping behaviors become workplace headaches, characterizing individuals as unreliable very early in their careers.

During the spring semester, I meet with first-year students who were not academically successful during their fall semester. Many of these students were early identified as not performing to potential, and were monitored for intervention opportunities. I wish I had a nickel for how many times I have heard "the professor hates me", "I don't understand the teaching assistant", or "I lost the syllabus". Instead, I develop a schedule of advising appointments with students who frequently rely on excuses versus making a genuine effort at academic achievement. The task becomes helping these students recognize how their actions or inactions define them. Utilizing a discussion on responsibility is a positive beginning to the semester.

What does it mean to be a responsible student?

• If you are responsible, you are reliable. 
• If you commit to enrolling in class, you will complete the required assignments. 
• If you are responsible and you have an assignment, you will do it on time and to the best of your ability. 
• If you are responsible, you will think about the consequences before doing something. You won’t do anything that will jeopardize yourself or your college career.
• If you are responsible, you will be accountable for what you do, and you won’t make excuses or blame others for your mistakes. 

Ninety-nine percent of the failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses.   ~~George Washington Carver

Comments

[Dr. Sanford Aranoff]

Excuses, excuses! Well, we professors must understand how students think, and build from there. See "Teaching and Helping Students Think and Do Better" on amazon.