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Yup. We have the Hope Scholarship here as well. On the surface it is a great thing and for many kids it does allow them to get a degree that otherwise they would not be able to afford. We just graduated an incredibly talented young man who is now going on to grad school in his field. He had no financial support from home (I believe he grew up in a project). He busted his butt though to graduate with a high GPA and he fought for every scholarship he could find to help fund his education.
But the Hope Scholarship also allows kids to attend college that have no business attending college. They cannot read and write with any degree of skill. They cannot do basic math (multiplication and long division). They come out of high school with a high GPA, but they have abyssmal SAT and ACT scores. They get in and then flunk out because they cannot handle even the most basic of classes. Most have to spend their first year taking remedial classes and then still flunk out. Then we (the university) have horrible graduation rates and we are scolded by the legislature for doing a poor job. Truthfully, we shouldn't allow these kids in to start with. We don't set the standards for entry. We are told by our governing body what the standards will be. You cannot turn certain students away, no matter how behind they are. You must take them all and they must graduate. Well, I'm sorry, but some of these kids are dumb as a box of rocks and have zero personal motivation. They deserve to flunk out. (Please note that I have also had students that weren't the sharpest crayon on the box, but they applied themselves diligently and EARNED a diploma. I have the utmost respect for them and wish them all the best for sure. It's the rest of the weinies that I have issues with.)
Y'all are right. They feel entitled to be GIVEN everything. Forget earning it. They are shocked when I won't accept late work, when I won't give extra credit, when I don't remind them constantly of every little due date (they get a calendar on the first day of class with every single due date marked in bold print. It is also on the class website.). It makes me crazy.
I had a student once that routinely skipped class, didn't turn in assignments and didn't do half of the required lab hours. This student also tended to make 30-40% on the written tests. This student, of course, failed the class. I started getting emails about two weeks after I turned in grades. Oh, this student begged and begged- "I'll do ANYTHING! I can't fail this class.". I pointed out that it was too late. Grades had already been turned in and besides, every opportunity had been afforded the student during the semester. The emails continued with every excuse imaginable. Finally the student and the student's mother went to our head of department. I was asked to give the student a second chance. I protested, but as I am not tenured, was pretty much required to do what I was told. I said the student in question would need to complete all of the lab hours again and turn in the assignments skipped. The student agreed. The next semester the student would randomly turn up for lab hours, but again only completed about half of the required hours. About half of the assignments were turned in. I let the failing grade stand. The student protested. Long story short (or less long anyway), the student and student's mother protested this grade all the way up to the Provost's Office, even though it was very clear that mathematically it was obviously why it was a failing grade. Thankfully the administration sided with me and the failing grade stood. It took a full year and a half to deal with though. If the kids had worked that hard in the actual class their wouldn't have been a problem! Sheesh!!
For every student I have that works hard and applies themselves, there are 10 more that feel I should just GIVE them a grade based on their mere presence. ARGGGGG!!!!
I really worry about our country as this group moves up and takes control. The failing of the economy may be the first step of the end of America as we know it. The final failure will be because of this generation. Society only works when there are more responsible citizens than irresponsible. I fear the scales are tipping and have almost fallen over.
