The other day, I got an email from one of my students. He attended most of the classes (missed 3 of 14, one unexcused) and turned in only 1 of 3 papers and didn't do any of the discussion questions. But, he did participate in the classroom discussions. He also brought another dimension to the class as he was not from the United States and so he brought other cultural information and viewpoints which expanded the understanding of the students in the class.
But, as English is not his first language, he struggled with the writing.
So, the other day he emailed me and asked what his grade was. Truth is, he failed the class. There is no way around it. So, I told him this. He emailed back and asked if there was anything he could do about this.
Why do students wait until the 11th hour to ask about this? Why not ask before, when I can really help?
Thankfully for this student, he is spending his summer on campus. So, I've offered him an incomplete which will give him one semester to finish the work. I've given him a hard deadline of July 31. He will be able to write the papers and accept the grade he earns. If he does nothing, he will fail, so he is no better or worse. But, as I have more time this summer, we may be able to solve his fear of writing.
The struggle as a professor is when do you teach the hard lesson of "you are responsible now, this is college" and when do you bend a little to help them learn the components of the subject they struggle with.
It's a hard balancing act, but generally I force the students to meet me halfway - I don't give gifts.
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