Accountability

Recently in a discussion with friends, we discussed accountability and responsibility. So many of my students do not seem to understand either concept.

I had a couple of students give me excuses for not turning in their work on time. One excuse was that they forgot to hit submit but they had actually completed it days earlier. That is not my problem. That is why you should always go back and check that your work is turned in!

Another student did not complete an assignment properly. The students were supposed to send me a copy of a research-based article for approval. It had to be peer-reviewed, have a literature review, followed by methodology, followed by results, ending with discussion. This student sent me a link to a web page and no article. Others sent me the citation of the article and others sent me articles that were not research-based. It was as if they just wanted credit for turning something in even if it was wrong.

One student disagreed with the zero that she earned. She said she didn’t understand why she got a zero when she turned in her work on time. I took a screenshot as evidence that she turned in her work three days late! It is one thing to turn in late work but another to lie about when you turned it in! Students need to understand that this makes their integrity very questionable.

I repeatedly ask students to proofread their work and then check that their work is submitted. It is not my responsibility to do these things.

I’m not sure how to teach students that they need take responsibility for the decisions that they make. They need to understand that they will be held accountable for these decisions.

Do you have any suggestions? Please share.

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