Tales From My Inbox

1. A student has a family wedding on the 16th and has a plane ticket on the 14th -- before the calculus final. Can I intervene with the instructor of the calculus class? I ask the instructor what the deal is; the student is failing and rarely comes to class.


2. Soldier in the army reserves. Been in Iraq for a year. Missed the registration deadline because of being in Iraq. Wants into my calculus class. Needs the hours of calculus so that he can file the paperwork so that the army will pay for his education.


3. A spring student of mine emails to tell me that she'll miss the first week of class.


4. Someone in another department changed the time of her final, and now it conflicts with one student's math final. Is the student telling the truth? Does the instructor of the math class understand the situation? Does the instructor of the other course know what's going on? I've been asked to contact the instructor of the other course and to find out what the story is.


5. Spring student emails me (and all of his instructors) asking about the books and the syllabus for the spring (signing his email "AAA Student"). I write back, "Which of my classes are you in?" I suspect the gen-ed class. No. Calculus.