One of the reasons I want to continue teaching part-time is to maintain contact with students and to “stay in the game,” so to speak. I want to make sure that what I’m thinking and writing are accurate. So far, so good. Four conversations occurred within an hour last week that let me know I still have a pretty good grasp on what students need to know in order to be successful.

Five good students (i.e., reliable and capable and hardworking) had situations that were distressing to them. If I could convince them and others to read Crossing the Bridge http://tinyurl.com/dy8x8uy, they could prevent future occurrences. Since the book is actually an eBook, I’ve used locations instead of page numbers in the following scenarios.

• One young woman missed the final. “What was up with that?” I wondered. It wasn’t like her to miss an exam and not let me know what was going on. Later that day, I got an email from her asking when our final was. Huh? What she needs to read is found at Location 1086-1105.
• Another student, upon learning that her semester average was 84, told me that she needed an A average and would be making more blog posts to bring the 84 up to a 90. Posting on the psychology is the only extra credit optional available, and I had told my classes that they could earn up to ten points for their posts. I had also explained that these points would be added to their cumulative number of points. She had misinterpreted this somehow and thought cumulative number of points was the same thing as final numerical average. What she needs to know is found in Location 1533-1538.
• Two didn’t bother to complete their final portfolio entry despite knowing that the written component of the course is worth 20 percent of the grade. Too busy? Poor time management? Knowing that time management is a huge challenge for college students, I included helpful information on the topic at Location 1573-1643.
• Yet another student let me know that he was taking a semester off because his financial aid was “messed up.” I don’t know exactly what had happened, but I do know that while financial aid is a boon, it can be a bit confusing. That’s why students need to meet with a financial aid advisor and ask questions. Location 872-939 addresses this topic.

This morning I’m remembering what my friend June said when I asked her if I thought students would benefit from the eBook. She had proofed it for me and made several suggestions for improvement. “If you can get them to read it, they will.” We looked at each other and pondered the truth of what she said. IF can be a pretty big word sometimes.