03
Sep
Sep
In my first semester as a teaching assistant, a student came to me with a sensitive request. The professor required students to use electronic clickers to answer multiple-choice questions during the lecture; participation would count toward their grade. But this student confided that she could not afford the $50 for a clicker and $30 to register it. She offered to write her answers on paper and give them to me after every lecture, or just accept a 0% for attendance, knowing that she would need to excel in other aspects of the class to make up for it. She was proud of her work ethic and sure she belonged in academia. She reminded me of myself—and of our responsibility as educators to support poor students without singling them out.