Terrible Students & The Teachers Who Deal With Them

Prepare for the season of excuses and lame rationalization. Now that Thanksgiving break is over, we enter the time of the year when millions of students suddenly realize how much trouble their grades are in.

Maybe those holiday dinner conversations hit a little too close to home when the family asks how the semester is going. Maybe it’s just the fact that only a few days of December remain until the final marks are made. Panic begins to set in for the unprepared student, a stark realization that research papers and final exams are about to come due. So much to do in so little time!

Some students buckle down and get it done, others give it the old college try before fading, and still more will decide that it’s just not worth it. I understand all this from my time as a bad student, good student, and teacher. One of the amazing things about teaching is how much student behavior you can predict as the years go by. So much changes in culture but slacker students stay the same.

I’m not going to go on too much about this as today’s short video will sum it up for you. Let me just say I am not talking about every student who has ever failed here. Some teachers are horrible and their students may really be doomed. Some classes are insanely hard although no one who puts in the effort should ever fail. No, I’m talking about students who just don’t care until the bill for their ignorance comes due.

I am stunned but not surprised when students come to me after bombing the whole course. They want to know what they can do to fix it. I never heard from them one time despite repeated attempts on my part to meet with them and discuss ways to make up points. Some of these students even wait until the final grades post and then act as if they’re shocked that they failed despite missing almost every test question of the year!

If you’re a student and you’ve blown it this far, just put away distractions for a couple of weeks (even Call of Duty and partying) and start hammering the work. If all else fails then plea for mercy. Simply admit if you screwed up and ask for grace. It may not save you but is the right way to go about things. Don’t come with weak excuses and don’t blame other people. Most of all, don’t tell your teacher that your failure is their fault! Trust me on this one, even if you do have a lousy teacher.

You have to really try to fail in my course. I have helped so many students achieve because they put in effort and communicated with me. They cared. Many of these successful students actually face real tough challenges, yet they do what it takes. We teachers can also help you if you’ve been flirting with worst student ever status but decide to change.  Second chances are important. They help build relationships and create teachable moments. I want all my students to get As.

That said, we’ll always have some students who just don’t care. They come and go all the time. The strange part is when they show up at the end of the year asking questions. That’s what this video is about. Have you ever experienced anything like this? I can hardly call this encounter fictional.