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

The last day of changing of grades has come and gone. It was in fact moved back one day because of the Labor day weekend extension.

The usual duration of this period is, after all, two working weeks after the course card distribution day.

That is why I told my students that the best time for them to run after any change of grades is during the second term. The course card distribution is usually the last day of the term that the school is open, so the count for setting the deadline of change of grades starts with the first working day of January. That actually gives them at least three whole weeks in which to work to complete their requirements.

Anyway, for the oldest engineering block, two of them had to send in working versions of the projects they were given in one of their electronics lab subjects, otherwise they would be given a failing grade.

Well, actually, they were already given failing grades when their projects did not have the expected outputs as presented on course card day. What would probably be more accurate would be to say that their grades would not be changed to a passing equivalent if their projects still did not work properly by then.

Their teacher initially scheduled their deadline to be 1pm. In the morning of that day, he even asked me by text if they already troubleshot (amazingly, my spell checker assures me that such a word exists by not highlighting it) their projects, otherwise he would prefer not to be bothered to go to school.

On a side note, I have had the experience before of having students show up on the last day of completion of requirements like that, without the specifications that we agreed upon (or, to be exact, that I gave them and that they accepted without protest). Despite the ultimatum that I already gave them, they still thought they could get by on more excuses piled up on their original excuses to get me to change their grade.

No dice, that. The only way to change this teacher’s mind is to show exemplary behavior, productivity and results totally different from their previously consistent slacking performance.

I guess my co-teacher’s method is a subtle threat for them not to waste his time unless they got some concrete final output.

He seemed satisfied with what they submitted, so they got final grades of one-point-five.

There was another casualty to their ranks though, someone who, their teacher said, would not even reach the passing mark even if he were to redo his project. It also seems that this guy did not take the practical exam, and when he was given a make up written exam, he didn’t take it seriously. So my co-teacher had no recourse but to fail him.

And true to the students’ (detrimental in the long run) reality game show mentality, they just accepted the further thinning of their number.

Thus concludes session number 588. For now, class dismissed.