What The Hell Are They Thinking Dept. #425

The semester is over, the grades are posted, and the calls from students have started. Today I received the first in what will probably be several calls from a student who was unhappy with the fact that I gave him an "F" in my class. Why did he fail? HE NEVER ONCE CAME TO MY FUCKING CLASS!!!! I haven't any idea what this guy even looks like! Yet, this pillar of educational brilliance still expects me to give him a passing grade. His problem is, if I don't pass him, he can't graduate. Guess he should've thought about that.

This is a surprisingly common phenomenon here in Korea: university seniors who get jobs halfway through their final year, never come to class, never make an attempt to contact the teacher, and yet expect not only to pass, but TO GET A GOOD GRADE! This guy (who had his friend call me, by the way) wanted me to give him a "B". HAH! My friend Ian had one of his students show up at the office last week with the assitant director of the English Dept. AND his mother in an effort to get his grade changed. Well, I've pretty much had enough. I'm being a hard ass this semester. You want a good grade? You have to graduate? You should have come to fucking class or talked to me at the beginning of the semester.

I had a student this semester who got a job and couldn't come to class. However, he took the reasonable approach. He came to me two weeks into the semester, explained his situation, and ASKED ME WHAT HE COULD DO TO PASS THE CLASS! I told him to send me an email every week telling me about his job or how his week went. He did it, and he's getting a "C". Seems to me to be a pretty simple process. Another of my students got a job that he had to start a week before the final exam. What did he do? He asked me if he and his group could take their final a week early. I had absolutely no problem with that. It shows initiative.

Most of the teachers are pretty flexible about this, but the student has to be pro-active and responsible for his/her own actions. You can't come to me a week after the semester ends and beg for a grade. I'm not going to help. Maybe that sounds harsh, but frankly, I'm sick of this shit.

{Hah! I just got a call from the English Dept. I guess the guy went over there to plead his case.}

I told the English Dept. that I'm unwilling to change the grade. What will happen now? The English Dept. will probably go into the system and change the grade so that the guy passes. I'll check later. If it's changed, the folks at the English Dept. are going to get a visit they're not going to like. CNU needs to stop molly-coddling these kids. This guy made his bed, now it's time to lay in it.