Scenario:
Larry shows up late to the conference. He seems rushed and a little irritated. He doesn't sit down. You smile and say, "Hey, my name is (fill in the blank). I'm glad you could make it. Should we get--" He cuts you off.
"I don't have a lot of time," he says, still standing. "Will you just tell me what I need to do so I can go?"
Pick one of the following responses:
1) "No, I won't. This conference will take a half hour. If you don't like it, feel free to leave; however, I will tell your professor that you didn't stay for the required amount of time."
2) "Oh, I'm sorry. I wish you had planned a little more effectively, and this problem could have been avoided."
3) "Well, if you'd like to take a seat, we can talk a little bit about your paper and see if we can't get you out of here quickly."
Comment and let us know how you would react.
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8 comments:
I would take option four, "It is really important for you to have sufficient time to discuss your paper. Is there another time we can meet where you when you won't be as rushed?"
I think that's a good point. I think there are people who don't mind rescheduling, and I think that's great. I'm not one of them, but I think that if an RA would rather reschedule, then that is just great.
I would go with option 5. "Sure thing, just take a quick seat and I'll run through this with you really quick, if you have any further questions please feel free to email later."
I agree with option five, you still get to go over their paper with them, and they can contact you if there is anything that they have questions on.
It honestly depends on who you are. If you have a busy schedule, you may understand and wouldn't mind getting out of there quickly, as well.
On the other hand, if you have a lot to talk about and feel that you have already put a lot of effort into their paper, you may want to reschedule with them. You might think that what you do for a student should not be blown off.
Like many other life situations, you can't have a planned response to every circumstance you run into as an RA. But it important to stick to principles of honesty and patience, among others. There is no single right way to approach this. Just be true to yourself without acting in a way that you would regret later.
I completely agree, V. I don't really like these scenarios, because there is no right way to always react in this kind of a situation. If the student is not motivated, and especially if the student is mean or rude, I don't think I have the patience to deal with that. But if the student seems sincere about not having time, then I would probably be willing to work with them and be flexible.
I'd probably respond with "I'm sorry you're in a rush. It might be beneficial to go over it quickly and see if you have any questions. But if you can't spare a minute, I can just give you your paper and you can email me later if necessary."
However, I wouldn't make another appointment unless the individual had a great reason to reschedule. Otherwise you can find yourself spending all day catering to every student's needs.
I would definitely take option three. Our purpose as Rhetoric Associates is to do help the students however we can. Even If they don't want to take full advantage of the opportunity to discuss their papers with us, we should still help them as much as we can on their terms.
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