I have this student who has a beautiful writing style. His is a natural talent. He isn't even majoring in English but in mechanical engineering. I love the way he writes, which I let him know on various occasions. I'm quite jealous of people who have a natural talent for something that it's so hard for me to acquire.
Yesterday we were writing a midterm, which this student failed. Realizing that he did badly, he wrote me a long, beautifully structured, carefully worded e-mail explaining why he messed up. The e-mail is so well-written that now I can't make myself give him a bad grade for the exam.
4 comments:
Yeah, I get the impression it's always hard for teachers to give bad grades to students who try hard, do the reading, write well, seem to understand the material etc., even when they are actually doing poorly in the class.
My partner teaches/has taught various biology classes at a couple different colleges, and every now and then he will get a student whom he is reluctant to give the grade they actually earn, since they seem to *deserve* better.
Dear Clarissa,
I believe that, you should have written him a long, beautifully structured, carefully worded e-mail explaining why you have to fail him.
Dear Clarissa,
I believe that, you should have written him a long, beautifully structured, carefully worded e-mail explaining why you have to fail him.
Michael Blekhman
A teacher's heart works in mysterious ways.
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