Student "edition" found at {csi dot journalspace dot com}.

Maybe I shouldn't have started this blog now, not with everything that's been going on.

It’s time to talk about that student again, since my recent quota of anecdotes about him has been filled, and I will now pour it out here.

I was already prepared beforehand when, on the meeting after their failed demonstration of their matrix-writing robot, he approached me to ask for certain if they really did get a grade of zero for that project. I said yes, because they could have finished it; they had the time to finish it; the other groups were able to finish it; and ultimately they didn’t.

He returned to their table, but I knew the grade-conscious part of him would not be able to let it go. And I was right: a few minutes later he was back, trying to defend that they still made an effort which deserved some grade.

I reminded him that the Executive Vice President was there to see that they were not able to demonstrate, and that was my embarrassment as much as theirs, and, with my voice loud enough for the other students in the room to hear (including his group mates at the other end) I specified that what I meant when I said they had the opportunity to finish it was that instead he had been using the computer working on his report for another subject. I said let that be a learning experience for you, that there are consequences to the actions you take that are out of a selfish motive.

That shut him up, at least for that meeting. Next session he was all, “Good morning, sir” and asking me where he could find certain parts of the kit, when we had just done an inventory and collected objects of the same color together. I don’t think it’s that he’s stupid, it’s just that he believes if the teacher talks to him again after the blow up last time, he thinks that means everything is back to normal.

It’s not. All these obvious questions he’s asking (such as where to write in their group notebook when they’ve only used one side of each page for their progress report, and had reached the end of the pages), he doesn’t see, are just irritating the teacher further – and I’m not talking about just me – until the next time the bubble bursts. Maybe I have to show my displeasure with him all of the time for him to get it.

Session 1435 has to be told straightforward and constantly when getting annoying. Class dismissed.