Today’s class discussion turned into a discussion about workload, student and prof burnout, and what to do about it in our class. A few takeaways:
- Students are really struggling. More than usual
- Students really, really appreciate a chance to be heard and discuss options

We decided to make an upcoming assignment ‘opt in’. If students need/want it to show improvement in the course, they can submit, but can also opt out in advance and redistribute those grades. (Not gonna lie, this was also motivated by grading burnout on my end!)

I try to always err on the side of empathy, which can mean I’m perceived as a pushover. I had to put my foot down to many proposed options around bonus marks, dropping grades, etc. This is about getting us all to the finish line without added stress, not about a free grade boost!

Finally, I do wish there was more discussion of this (student and prof burnout, how to manage) at a higher/system level, so that so many of us didn’t feel the need to take this on in our own classes.