The rather spacey but philosophical and interesting student from 102 just dropped off the hard copy of his essay, and he does want comments, so I'll have to address that when I first get in. And to my amazement, the scattered woman who told me in tears yesterday that she just could not finish the essay actually did: she uploaded on time. And one student who emailed me just about when we started with the novel to say she was badly injured and wouldn't be able to make it to class finally responded to my email and sent her final essay--which will get over 100 points in penalties (under length, doesn't use the required research, no works cited page, wrong font/format). She also sent zero reading notes. I told her I'd crunch the numbers--but she isn't going to pass.
On the other hand, the student who plagiarized in the M/W 101 managed to squeeze out a D for the course--because I gave him an F rather than a zero for his final paper. Fair enough. He probably wouldn't have gotten much better than that anyway. It was interesting to see how the grades shook out. One student got a grade slightly higher than I'd have expected; one, slightly lower. But the rest were pretty much exactly what I'd have predicted.
Of course there is also the annoyance factor, that so far, two students who told me, oh, yes, they definitely want comments and will come to my office to get them ... didn't. One had the good grace to send me an email saying she wouldn't make it. I had the bad grace to respond and let her know I was more than a little annoyed to have done the work when she couldn't be bothered to come get it. And the student who decided not to withdraw, and to whom I foolishly guaranteed a D, also didn't collect her essay--so I sent her a less than gracious email, too, letting her know that I regret having made her the assurance, but since I did, I will honor it, even though I feel taken advantage of.
One student from the T/Th class showed up today; I'd sent her an email last night saying she couldn't pass and recommending that she come talk to me. She's a very quiet, shy, meek little thing, and I know she tried her best, but she really didn't have what it takes to make it. It still broke my heart to see her there, unable to look me in the eyes, tears pouring down her face. I did a quick calculation of what her grade would be if I didn't take any of the penalties on any of her essays--and it came out to a D. I explained the pros and cons of taking the D and moving forward into 102 versus withdrawing and retaking 101, and finally, when we realized she could get into a section of 101 that meets at the exact same day and time as the 102 she'd been in, she decided to make the switch. I sent her off with the withdrawal form; I hope she processes it quickly. There's always a bit of a gap before those W's are officially recorded--and I get in trouble if my grades are not fully submitted, even if I'm waiting for a student to process a W. Well, we'll see.
I also spent a good chunk of time with the adjunct whose student was in my office, complaining about his grade. It took a while for me to get clear on exactly what the student had or had not done, and how that reflected the course requirements. My strong feeling is she should just fail him; even offering a W is generous. But she believes that somehow she can work with him until he has a Road to Damascus experience and suddenly lights up and realizes he can write and do college level work. I tried to tell her that he won't see the offer as a gift; he sees it as punishment (because he actually has to do the work he's been trying not to do). She just really wants to try, so, OK, fair enough. But I told her to let him know that his only options at this point are take the incomplete (which he won't fulfill) or take an F--and that the woman he spoke to, and the chair of the English department, and the dean would all back her up. (Watch, he'll go to the dean of students or someone even higher up the pipeline. Fine. Let him.) I haven't heard anything about what transpired; I don't know if I will, but I truly would have flunked him if he'd been in my class. If she continues to work here, she'll have to learn what these students are like--and that some simply do not want to be educated. This particular student only wants to play on our baseball team. The rest, he doesn't give a flying fuck about.
The fact that I spent so long with the adjunct and with my poor, weeping student and still got as far as I got is why I feel pretty hopeful that I can get everything done tomorrow--maybe even in time to submit the paper rosters before the office closes. We'll see, but I truly am hopeful. I'm not so hopeful that I'll skip setting an alarm; I do think I need to be in about my usual time in order to get it all done. But as long as I don't have to be here until insanely late finishing up, I'll be very happy indeed.
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