In which an F is a blessing...

I had an odd conversation with a student last night.

She's of the 'come to class when it's convenient' variety.

When I asked her which section she's in, she told me the wrong day & time the first FOUR times I asked. Finally, I thought to check the other class list -- there she was.

When she got her grade sheet, she knew she was failing the class. Then -- she asked about the final.

I asked if she was taking other courses this semester. She said she had several, with projects and things due next week.

I told her that passing the final would require a lot of work on her part and asked her if she'd rather not take it? The other option is to re-take the class in the summer -- with me.

Her relief was visible.. She started to smile and sat down in my visitor's chair.

We talked about what she'd have to do next time to do well in the course -- things like come to every class, do the homework, get help etc.

I told her about several students who had problems the first time around, but who got A's the second try. The difference is that they changed their habits.

We discussed the possible impacts of having an F on her transcript/GPA for a summer... and, really, they're negligible.

I'm happy she stopped by instead of just accepting her F in silence. I think getting that F has helped her much more than cramming for the exam and maybe getting a pity D.