Aggressive Whiny Update Revisited

Well Carla, my AW, came back Friday. Of course she flunked the quiz and of course she was totally lost and of course when I asked her to answer something she gave the standard Huff of Victimization with de rigueur eyeroll. Of course when digging in on our main partner activity she called me over and said she didn't understand what to do. Mind you it was something that we had been doing for three days already but of course she was absent and of course it was something too big for me to explain in 2 seconds, so I told her to just get with her partner (who, happily, has been there the whole chapter) and that if she needed further help with it she should come to office hours. Sorry but I didn't have time to do a remedial lesson on Every Single Direct and Indirect Object Pronoun with Their Uses and Placement since we had other stuff to get into in the syllabus for that day after that activity.

Back in the office, I was surprised and a bit impressed to have Carla knock on the door about 15 minutes into my office hours. I thought she had realized she should probably get some help but she started to hand me $10 cash saying that it was for the extra credit trip (Dr. S. is organizing a field trip somewhere fun later in the semester but of course in the interest of my continued anonymity I can't tell you where to; suffice to say it is a really cool opportunity for all). I said I couldn't take it, that it was to be given to Dr. S. as per her instructions in her email and that it wasn't supposed to be cash anyway, that she had asked for checks.* Again Carla found this to be something akin to persecution.

Why is it that the students who often think we're always being hard on them are sooooooo often simply the ones who never fucking pay attention to what they're supposed to fucking do so that when we say X isn't possible or is too late or has to be formatted differently or needs to be given to the person who asked for it, all of a sudden we're On Their Case??!!??!!??!!??!!

Qu'est-ce que j'en ai ras le cul!!!!!!!!!!

OK, I feel better now.

Anyway... of course I got that whatthefuckmakesyousuchabitch?! look for the kabillionth time from Miss Carla, followed quickly by another of panic since she realized I was at least partly right (I think it dawned on her that she had read an email somewhere and that it in fact had not been from me but from Dr. S.) Anyway I said, "If you want I'll forward the email to you so you have all the info plus you'll have Dr. S's address that way so you can ask her if she'll take the money Monday and if you can give her cash." She stood there for another second and finally said, "OK."

I sent her the forwarded info message and she left.

It wasn't until later that I remembered she had been there and was thinking about how lost she had been in class, and decided to email her abour her absences and about what I see as her extremely slim chance of passing if she continues this way, especially in view of her only making a D last semester (i.e. very poor foundation to build upon in 1020). I was quite tactful, mind you, and offered lots of help and ideas. I was a bit surprised to be writing her but I decided I better take another tack with her this semester rather than being dissuaded by her attitude and thereby letting her dig her own grave. At least if she keeps going downhill this time she won't have me to blame for it. Well probably she still will, actually, but at least I'll know that any teensy voice inside me asking "Could you have helped her a little more?" must be satisfied this time.

Hmph.

*For the record, Carla is not the only person for whom I refused to be the money-deliverer to Dr. S. Just before leaving class I refused the same favor to one of my very favorite students, I'll have you know. But the fact is this trip really is Dr. S's baby and she gave them specific instructions and they're all perfectly capable of dropping off their money and info to her mailbox (I did, however, tell them that if they didn't have an envelope, etc., that I would be happy to give them one if they stopped in my office on the way to hers, so there). Further, if I started taking the money from one or two I didn't want to end up with 15 people's funds and being responsible for same, esp. if they're destined for the formidable Dr. S!