Professor Fang Shu

I must admit that I am somewhat disappointed during this time.

I have observed students getting burned out and becoming less interested in attending classes and doing homework. Despite my best efforts, they seemed unmotivated. Honestly, I also felt a little tired, and I thought that maybe I shouldn't care too much. After all, there are good and bad students in every classroom. But this idea quickly faded from my head. I have positioned myself as an educator rather than a teacher, so I should not give up any student.

I recently listened to a podcast talking about marathons, so today I would like to share what I learned from the talk.

Back in the day, Addidas created a poster describing their '7 Stages of Marathon'- Ritual, Shock, denial, isolation, despair, affirmation, and renewal. 

Some runners give up in the "denial" stage. This is normal because not everyone is ready for the next two stages. The "isolation" or "despair" stages are tough, but they are very close to the final destination. Once runners have completed these two stages, they will be in the "affirmation" and "renewal" stages. This will allow them to complete the race and enjoy the experience.

Similarly, professors have a responsibility to monitor students' progress, file progress reports to the university, and offer students some opportunities to drop classes. There is nothing wrong with giving up in the "denial" stage. It is understood by professors that not all students are ready to move forward for a variety of reasons. However, if students successfully pass the "denial" stage, they are very close to finishing the class and deserve a good grade. Feelings of isolation and despair are likely to come, but they won't last long. 

If you're one of my students and you happen to read this article, I hope you don't give up. Only four weeks remain in this semester, and I'm confident you'll finish it with a good grade. Let's finish this "marathon" and have fun!

Sincerely,

Fang