So, it's the final
week of the semester, and I'm meeting all sorts of new people! Except
they're not technically, “new”; they're the people I should've
met about four months ago – diligent students concerned about their
academic future. All them them asking that ever important question:
“Am I passing this class?”
First of all, I'm
of the opinion that a student who doesn't even know the answer to
that question probably has good reason to worry – so that's one
strike against them. I've never had a straight-A student ask me that
particular question. The might be worried about honor rolls of their
valedictorian status; will that last test bring them down to a
dreaded A minus or even
(*gasp!*) a B+, but the issue of whether or not they are passing is
never really in doubt.
That
being said, I've heard this question three times in the last week –
let's take a look at our Rogues' Gallery:
Student
#1 is the Great Communicator – with everyone but me. I don't think
I've ever seen her walk into class not deep
in conversation – either on the cell phone which I am constantly
reminding her she shouldn't have, or with a friend who should, in all
likelihood, be somewhere else, as he/she (always someone different!)
is not even in my class. Funny how she never seems to mind making
them late to catch up on the latest gossip. In class, I am constantly
reminding her to stay on task; when she's at her computer (we do a
lot of computer-based work), I continually find her updating her
Facebook and/or Twitter account (how she bypasses the school filters
is a mystery to me) or, failing that, she's texting. In spite of my
constant reminders, she's handed in precious little actual work. And
now she wants to know if she's passing.
Students
2 and 3 are the Siamese Twins – always together; always at play.
All attempts to separate them are in vain. On the rare occasions when
one of them is absent, the other manages to be productive and
resourceful – but together, they have no interest except joking
with each other. The tragedy of it is that one of them is passing
(due mostly to the other's spotty attendance), and it's the other one
who has, only now, expressed concern over his grades.
Student
#4 is the Phantom. I literally only saw him about 4 times in the
entire semester. His name is on my roster only because I assume that
he never formally withdrew from the class. Lo and behold, today he
comes – on the wrong day, since his class doesn't meet until
Thursday (a fact I assume he's long since forgotten), and, after
reminding me of who he is, doesn't just ask if he's passing, he wants
me to promise him that he is.
Lord,
grant me strength – the strength not to laugh.
We
need to instill in our students the value of diligence and hard work
as early as possible – I'm no fan of grades; I'd rather see a
student learn and enjoy learning than acquire arbitrary letters and
numbers on papers and quizzes, but if a student is going to ask “Am
I passing?” They should be doing it throughout the school year. Now
is not
the time to suddenly realize that “Well, you know, maybe all that
slacking off I was doing is going to adversely affect me.” Ears
that were deaf to their teachers' advice and admonishments will perk
up quickly when they realize their names are not
called at graduation.
It's
tragic, but such students are the architects of their own failure.
Teachers can point the way and encourage, but we cannot learn for
them. Students who will not help themselves cannot be helped –
certainly not in the last week of school.
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