Janet D. Stemwedel

To say our Fall courses had really high absence rates compared to the Before Times is probably an understatement.

Today a colleague mentioned that he queried his students (mostly undergraduates in their first two years of study) about what was going on with them that made it hard to get to class.

In the past, we were hearing a lot about jobs changing work schedules, car troubles, etc. Now? Almost entirely feelings of anxiety and depression. Ooof.

Jan 4, 2023 at 12:55amWeb
Show threadJanet D. StemwedelJan 4, 2023
I venture to say, as we prepare to enter the FOURTH year of the pandemic (plus loads of layoffs in what's supposed to be the good job sector in these parts, tech): Those feelings of anxiety and depression are likely to be a problem in Spring semester, too.
Show threadKim HannulaJan 4, 2023
@drfreeride There’s an article in our local paper saying that 30% of our college’s students have experienced homelessness. Thirty. Percent.
Show threadDan HicksJan 4, 2023
@drfreeride Last semester I had to stop lecture a couple of times for a big-group discussion of sleeping disorders
Show threadSara MannsJan 4, 2023
@drfreeride my kid, who did very well on remote video her 2nd year, had a rough fall term but she was not the only one who simply could not make it to class & saw her learning suffer. Oddly, it was easier when the barriers to getting into the classroom on time were lower (on zoom). I'm worried about what's coming after graduation for this cohort of students who did what we said to do to get into college & stay there despite everything.
Show threadDr. RebeccaJan 4, 2023
@drfreeride it’s time to put the number for the suicide hotline in the syllabus along with other school related support info. Anxiety and depression is severe in teens and young adults so I’ve heard from my kid’s pediatrician. 😔
Show threadJason E MillerJan 4, 2023
@drfreeride We instructors at my University have noticed similar attendance patterns. Concerning. I didn't think to ask my students what they thought the reasons were.
Show threadThomas BerkerJan 4, 2023
@drfreeride We have switched to mandatory attendance. I hate the administrative oberhead and that it excludes some students, but I strongly believe in the value of gathering people at one physical place.
Show threadJanet D. StemwedelJan 4, 2023
@snauth University policy forbids us from grading on attendance. And if we could, given the material conditions of our students’ lives, we’d lose most of our students.
Show threadThomas BerkerJan 4, 2023
@drfreeride I see! I have for many years opposed mandatory attendance but post-COVID (and more importantly after having taught little avatars on a Zoom screen) I have abandoned my resistance. Fortunately our students here in #Norway are generally well off - at least materially. Psychological problems are on the rise here as well.
Show threadDawn BazelyJan 7, 2023
@drfreeride lots of the same, here
Since 2020, I have been strongly encouraging all of my students to get enrolled in some kind of counselling BEFORE things get critical