Suppose you have a student who is failing your course. He is currently at 23%. There is a research paper and an oral presentation left to do, which is a combined 30% of his overall grade. Even if he earns a perfect score on the remaining assignments, he will still fail the course. The student wants to know what he needs to do to pass.
Do you:
- Find a polite way to tell him that he is screwed, or
- Encourage him to complete the work, making no promises of passing the course, but you know that he is going to fail?
12 comments:
I go for the polite you're screwed. Run the numbers with them. Note it might have been helpful if they checked sooner. Maybe they are borderline in other classes and can save the grades there.
This does of course have the potential for biting you in the ass, but I always say it is in the best interst of the student.
Besides-- it is probably something the student knows already.
yah, i say the truth too. b/c if they do the work they will expect to pass...
I'm with Weezy and Justme. Be nice about if, but be honest. They'll be even more upset if they somehow get A's on the last assignments and still fail anyway.
I agree with the others, you should tell him he can't pass the class.
I'd also tell him (mostly to let him save face) that if he wants to complee the assignments, he's welcome to do so and that you'll evaluate them so that if (when??) he re-takes the class he'll do better in the future.
If the kid isn't obnoxious, I usually handle these situations by telling them that they are welcome to re-take the class with me. This often sends the message that you aren't angry or upset with them and that you think he's a good person etc...
I was going to say the opposite, but I can see the points of the other commenters. I guess it comes down to whether or not you want him to do the rest of the work. If you actively don't, or if you don't care, then gently let him down. If you think he should try for the rest of the course, then go with B.
What's the likelihood of his getting a perfect score for the rest of the assignments? Nil, right? The ones who promise to do that never, ever can. Therefore, if he does the rest of the work, he'll likely bomb it too, so he can't feel shafted when he fails the class.
I'd be sympathetic and explain that it would be almost impossible for him to pass the class. I'd go on to explain that given his track record, it would be unlikely that he'd suddenly understand everything and score perfectly on the remaining things. (Actually, even the best students seldom get perfect scores, so that is a safe bet.)
That way, you've let him know that he isn't passing, but without saying that he's failed, no matter what. Of course, he might swear that he'll get perfect scores on everything left. If he is foolish enough to try, then he won't do well (as we all know from experience), and then he'll get an F anyway.
The number rule of dealing with students (heck, people even) is do not lie to them. It will probably only create more trouble for you in the long run, and it serves the student no good either. At best, I would try to phrase it in a way that makes completing the rest of the work for the course good practice for when the student retakes the class.
My vote is for the truth too. Lay the numbers out for him and let him decide for himself what he wants to do.
I'm not exactly sure how to politely tell someone they are screwed though..Good Luck!
I agree with the majority here; be honest, and break it to him/her gently. I also agree that the student will expect a "courtesy pass" after doing all of the work, even if the grades don't equal 60%.
For the sake of throwing my two cents in, I too, think you should tell him there's no chance. Might be able to save his grade in other classes.
I always go with the truth. It can be harder to discuss, but better to deal with it now than later when the student could accuse you of misleading him.
I always just do the numbers in front of them and say, so you see, it doesn't look like it. I also offer that even though they know that, and it may seem like a waste of time, if they stick around and do the work anyway, they'll be in a better position to pass the class next time because they will have at least gone through the exercise once. I seldom get takers on that because they're so disheartened to hear the truth that there's nothing they can do to pull out of the mess they created.
Michelle
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