The Student Speaks/The Teacher Answers
Drabble for the end of a Semester
Note: the following drabble contains the email I received from a student (this is verbatim). I never sent in the response.
- K.D.
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Hello Professor,
I didn’t pass your course because I missed two exams. Is it possible for you to give me a task to complete instead of these exams? I know my request might be impossible, but please consider what you can do for me because things are not easy for me.
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Hello Student,
I have read your email several times since you sent it to me after your final exam that you arrived late for. You have made things uneasy for me, too, young man. And I think you know how this ends and what my response needs to be.
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Kendall Defoe
Teacher, reader, writer, dreamer... I am a college instructor who cannot stop letting his thoughts end up on the page. No AI. No Fake Work. It's all me...
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THE MOTH
Hapley was one of the most celebrated entomologists of his time, famous for his discoveries and infamous for his bitter feud with Professor Pawkins. Their rivalry had lasted for decades and had grown from an academic disagreement into a personal war. It began when Pawkins dismissed a species Hapley had named, and from that moment onward, the two men attacked each other relentlessly in papers, meetings, and public lectures. Their quarrel became legendary within scientific circles, stirring passions as fierce as any religious dispute.
By Faisal Khan4 days ago in Fiction
Comments (7)
Oh, this is such a well-crafted glimpse into the teacher-student dynamic! The honesty and restraint in the teacher's unwritten reply speak volumes—perfectly captures the weight of responsibility on both sides.✨
I love the analogy. So true. I worked in the education field for 18 years. I can relate.
As a student, I've been there. Between being a college student and a full time nurse's aid in a nursing home, something had to give; it wouldn't be fair to the residents if I wasn't at my best, so school went down the toilet. But I did not have the audacity, or confidence, to ask for my failures to be forgiven. I knew what I was doing. Some people just don't see the flaws in their own beings. And for real, he asked AFTER knowing he failed and knowing he missed 2 exams? Dude's gonna throw out his back reaching that far.
But why were they late? Was it something valid?
I think it's fair. The student should have reached out sooner. Too little, too late.
Ha! Completely fair - in the student's defense, you miss 100 percent of the shots you don't take!
Firm, but fair!