Not As Bad As Expected

I had five straight hours of meetings with my students today- each for twenty minutes. Their assignment had been to go over their midterm grades, reflection upon why they had received each grade and then come up with a plan to succeed with an acceptable grade for the end of the semester. I have been struggling with the laziness and lack of motivation for these students for the last few weeks, especially after reading their midterms, so I really didn't have any idea of what to expect. I was surprised to find out that the students had actually completed the assignment (for the most part). One student didn't complete it and came back that afternoon with the assignment complete and one of them did it totally wrong but also came back when I had a few minutes to go over it with me, so that was nice. And having twenty minutes to talk to each student was wonderful- I was really able to work with them one-on-one and give them advice and support for where they were struggling, and also to ask the hard questions. A common theme that I see amongst my students is that they talk the talk so well. They say all the right things and write the correct things down but they don't really walk the walk. They don't make the first, second, third, fourth, etc. stops that it takes to actually do that it is that they need to do. And that's really the crux of the matter with the majority of them. I really think they're starting to get it but we're not really going to know the answer until final grades come out. I did have a really good conversation with a student who I think should probably take some time off. She's dealing with medical issues and working more than 20 hours a week and we discussed the possibility of going to CWI for two years and then coming back to C of I, especially since it's a lot cheaper and she can devote more time to working. I also met with another student who is back from dismissal and had a good talk with her- and got a chance to talk to Sue about her as well since we both have her in class. She's one who really talks the talk but doesn't walk the walk so I'm going to keep an eye on her over the next few weeks. I like my job, I really do, but I have a frustrating job. It's hard to see the fruits of my labour until the following year/end of the semester/possibly never. But I guess if one or two students got off the probation list or raise their GPAs, then I've done my job....