Being frustrated with my students

[loosenmymynd]

I'm a BAME lecturer in one of these universities where education has been commodified and students from developing countries are their target market - think South Asia.
I have passion for impactful teaching, but I've been doing some soul-searching and I do not like who I'm becoming around my students.
Teaching is hard, frustrating and almost impossible due to limitations on the part of my students. And I am now seeing myself resenting the very people who you would have called 'my people'.
Some of examples:

1. Students have in some way (which I can't wrap my head around) have gained admission based on having first class/ second class upper degrees from their home countries and have passed the English Language test, yet they can't communicate - cannot understand simple conversations, can't communicate, can't read or write.
2. Students don't show up to class as expected. If they did, they are not 'present' - have no pen or notepad/ laptop (well most can't write anyway) and cannot engage in simple subject discussions. A postgraduate lecture often derails from the subject matter to explaining basic English.

Say for example, the topic for the day is Ethical dilemmas in legal cases, we'd end up spending the time just explaining what a dilemma is.

1. Some don't even know how to log onto a computer.

Yesterday, I was teaching a masters student how to do Ctrl+alt+del.

1. They turn up late to lectures and meetings (think 1-1.5hrs late) and feel offended if they're told off for this. No willingness to unlearn and learn new ways.
2. Don't show up to meetings and don't communicate. Don't respond to emails.

If at all, they suggest an alternative time that they would be happy to meet as though all has to be at their convenience. Isn't the primary reason for being in the UK to study?

1. Do not do assignments or meet deadlines.
2. Display misogynistic behaviours, for example, some males feel frustrated when been told off by a female lecturer and I can see their rage in the way they shrug their arms in the air or stomp their foot when sat down as though they're about to fly off the handle.
3. Just always making excuses. Never making effort to pull their weight. File complaint when they don't pass or blame you for not teaching them when they fail.
4. Expect you to give them a 50% pass mark to get them over even if they've done nothing to deserve it.

10. Can't send a proper email yet they complain that they're not exposed to the industry or doing experiential learning. I'm not confident to take them anywhere is the honest truth.

These examples are 0.1% of what I'm dealing with. But I have come to a place where I'm now resenting most of my students and other than my contractual obligation, I have zero respect for them in the professional sense.
I don't know why. I've lost empathy for them.

YABU Be mad at the systems which have failed these people and our system which is taking advantage of them.
YANBU They are really not making an effort to meet the standards expected of a UK graduate programme.

If anyone has any good advice on how to cope with this (excluding speaking to senior management- they don't care; they just want these people's money), please share.

You are small cog in the wheel and you are funding UK students to do the more expensive degrees eg lab based.

You only live once (YOLO) so you need to decide if this is how you want to spend your life.

There are growing university opportunities in east Asia so the ones who come here are not likely to be the highest caliber.

If you have to stay at least in the short term I would match them with your effort so it doesn't damage your mental health.

You're right; they're not of top calibre.
My mental health is already being affected.
I feel irritable, unproductive and frustrated by default.
Thank you for the advice.
I will reset how much of me I give to teaching although it'll be painful since this is what I love doing.
I'm also going into therapy as I feel mentally drained.

Sorry, not adding anything, but bookmarking (phone app).

I feel your pain.

I'm v recent ex NHS. Working alongside people being paid the same as me (B6, 'senior') who were 100% evidently not in any way qualified.

I once had an overseas student. She was very sweet, but I have no idea how she got on the course. She had barely any functional English and her written communication made no sense.

I'm teaching my first ever cohort that's majority international this year OP and I feel you. Many are wonderful, engaged students but there are some who won't even say hello to me in a tutorial and pretend they're getting on fine.

Sounds like you're burnt out, when you're not feeling as exhausted it's easier to focus on the good students and brush off the difficult ones. Any prospect of a break at the end of the semester?

My DS had his uni graduation recently. B.Sc. Middle of the road Uni (Bournemouth). Solid enough subject. Worked hard, 1:1, now employed in a proper post grad job.

But, at his graduation, also graduating there were all the 'Masters' students doing 'Cyber security'; 50 of them. All 100% Nigerian. (With a massive cheer -squad of family and friends 😂).

How is this? What is going on?

I gather the ability to import your entire family, as a Masters STUDENT, is a draw.

But isn't anyone going 🤔 about this 'hugely successful' cohort?

I was NHS. I left recently because of how unsafe it was becoming. Band 6 CT 'radiographers' with 'post graduate certificates' (sure) in CT, from third world countries, who couldn't identify basic, first year students' requirement anatomical structures on scans.

Our public institutions, unis and hospitals, are apparently okay with this subterfuge.

Most people don't have a clue about this.

Honestly, the smiley, lovely (mostly, the Nigerian men's misogyny wasn't great) staff group I left, because they were endangering my own state registration, really, really couldn't communicate in English.

In a health-care situation. 'Quick! Get the crash team! Now!'- 'What is this team?' etc.

Thank you for the advice.
Certainly, I'm burnt out. I intend to take a rest over the Christmas break and return next semester with some indifference.
I teach over 100 students in a cohort. I've identified only 4-5 average-good students I can focus on.
It's unfortunate.

I'm baffled by how some of my students gained admission. Lots just don't add up.
I feel that our system sometimes turns a blind eye when there's money to be made off people and that's just sad.

I'm sorry for your experience

I understand that it can be very easy to cheat in the language exams, and that that was even more the case during covid.

I worked with a woman whose husband was at a similar university. He taught computer science at degree level. Virtually all his students were from overseas and were non-English speakers. He said most couldn't even say hello to him never mind discuss anything to do with the course.

He said that they didn't do tutorials or seminars because basically the students couldn't speak English, and this would be so apparent.

In the lectures, he said they had interpreters, so he was stopping and starting talking all the time and it was very frustrating.

There was absolutely immense pressure on him to pass everyone. This was easy enough, because when the assignments were handed in, they were in perfect written English and would get a very high mark. There were no sat exams, and as I said, no tutorials or seminars.

The University was simply robbing those students of an education, and those students were complicit in it because they were buying the assignments online. The guy was told not to worry about it because they wouldn't be staying in Britain to work anyway.

I'm afraid that you're right about students being accepted into courses because the institution needs their fees rather than because they are capable of completing the course.

It's been getting more and more like this over the last few decades. The attitudinal, behavioural stuff is a bit different, I think, as the students could buck their ideas up a bit, but they can't miraculously become fluent in English and have knowledge that they've never been taught (although they could show a bit of willingness to apply themselves to gaining the latter tbh).

Sorry, I meant to add that the guy and his wife ended up emigrating to New Zealand. There was a university there which had a lot of lecturers who had taught at that specific university in the UK.

I’m working for a private healthcare company that’s owned and managed by Nigerians. You have to complete an 8 week course to start with 2 Nigerian lecturers. The misogyny and racism towards white people in the company (I’m in the uk) is astounding. When I did the course a couple of years ago there were 11 Nigerians, 1 mixed raced lady and 2 white people doing the course. A few of the Nigerians spoke very poor English, and most of them couldn’t read or write. On the last day there was an exam which had to be completed by every student before anyone left the room. The course lecturers went around all of the tables and filled in all of the exam sheets for the people who couldn’t read or write. Then gave every one of us a job when we are working as agency care staff for multiple companies including the nhs. Racism is fucking rife where I work, but there’s a good reason why. I’ve had to request multiple uniforms for the companies I do cover for, if I turn up in my actual agency uniform I get treated like absolute shit as it’s assumed I’ll be as useless as the majority of our staff.

If they don't meet basic language and are missing classes then they may be in breach of VISA rules. I know the uni I worked at had to keep meticulous attendance records for visa students so that might be something to flag -especially as any issues will cots the HE their sponsorship rights - ergo no Int students.

HEFCE woukd also be interested in the language side. I know that in certain regions there's a lot of test fraud, especially now IELTS etc can be taken online.

Sending hugs for the burnout

AI.
this is how they are passing the English exams and other stuff to get on your course.
I advertised for an NHS b6 position and got back only overseas applicants. Not a problem. The applications were fantastic, but.. it didn’t matter what part of the globe they were from the applications were very similar.

i asked Ds what an answers would like and how to check, checked and was shocked to find they had all used AI to answer. Those who got through to interview were not able to live up to the cv form. So if this stuff isn’t getting screened this is where you get a low calibre of student. We need a system that to mass check applicants for ai answers.

Unfortunately most of the points you raise are what teachers have to deal with now.

It used to be young teens that would display these behaviours and you’d never see it in a college and definitely not in a university.
But now these attitudes are coming through in universities too.

Its not just international students and from what I’ve heard, the international students are doing far better than the British students.

There have been several threads over the past few months of students behaviour and lack of engagement in FE and HE.

I know the lockdowns probably have a lot to answer for, as they do in secondary schools where students are much less mature than in previous years.
But I can’t see this being the whole reason for it.

My Ukrainian guest had to pass the IELTS exam before she could get an undergraduate place at our closest university.

ielts.org/

She had to go to a nearby city to take the exam under watched conditions.

I presumed this was standard procedure as all three universities she contacted made it clear that she had to have the IELTS qualification.

Is this not the case for Masters qualifications?

I work alongside a company that administrates EFL/admissions testing for entrance.

There is so much malpractice from students and overseas exam centres.

Half the time the person sitting the speaking test isn't the real candidate, it's a paid stand in. They're really trying to crack down on it, but each time a new capture method is implemented the fraudsters put in place new ways to counter it/new loopholes.

Probably half the people with certificates of EFL shouldn't have them at all. Most of what we see is Asia/Africa.

Part of the IELTS test is a speaking test where an examiner assesses one's ability to comprehend, articulate thoughts, hold conversation etc.
So they can't possibly use AI for a speaking test? My guess is they are either forging language certificates or getting impersonators to do the speaking test on their behalf.
There's just no way the British Council would have deemed their language skills sufficient if they assessed them.

This is pretty much my experience.
We have imported lecturers from these regions some of whom can't articulate and you wonder how they became 'professors.' They bring in their close circles and then run the place like a corrupt system, pressuring us to change marks or just accept the student's' unprofessional behaviours. When you refuse, they categorise you as difficult and alienate you.

On one hand I think well they are paying a fortune, let them get on with it, but then are they expecting to pass the course, or are they using a student visa as a way to permanently move to the UK?

Is there any way they can be reported to authorities? If they can't communicate in English how are they even getting a place on the course?

On the other hand, is their behaviour effecting the other students? If so then they shouldn't be able to continue on the course, especially if they are failing anyway.

I completed my degree 6 years ago and we only had a couple of overseas students, but it may have been the course that I was on... one of my modules was a language class and there were more foreign students on that course, and they were very cliquey and wouldn't speak English.

Oh this is another issue I didn't even list.
They use AI to engage in workshops, right in front of me. They type the question over to ChatGPT on their phone or send it to someone via WhatsApp and when the person responds, they show me (not even concerned about how this is academic misconduct).
Months ago, I would correct them sternly but then they complained that I am critical and gave poor feedback on the module, so now programme leader advised not to tell them off so as not to upset them as the feedback is tied to his performance.

This is also something that can be hugely damaging to other students. On my degree (at a good university) there were multiple students from mainly Asian countries who just couldn't communicate. I was really interested in them and their backgrounds/home countries so I made a real effort to talk to them but they'd mostly just stare at me blankly. Seminars and lectures were always dominated by the group leader/lecturer trying to explain basic English terms, to the point I just ended up downloading most of the materials and not going in because what was the point? Yet they all got 2:1s.

Don't get me wrong I have no issue with overseas students (if they're vaguely competent!) but this really affected my time at university and it's so clear it was all about the overseas fees...