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.

Did I already talk about my current slacker student and his "guardian angel" in school?

It's one of the personnel at the registrar's office, with whom the mother maintains correspondence.

That definitely explains how the student could stay here so long on such mediocre performance.

Anyway, I was a bit peeved yesterday when, just as we were wrapping up the elections and about to announce the winners, she barged in with the slacker's mother, saying she had been trying to contact me all day for a meeting.

Well, if she had done that at least a day before I would have told her to reschedule due to the elections.

Anyway, since she was already there, fine, I talked to the mother just to be able to say the things I have been waiting to say to the son if he approached me.

First, I resent that even she assumes "nothing happens" during the first week of classes, which does not justify being absent on those days. It's when the teacher (at least in my case) discusses the class policies to be in effect for the entire term, the "social contract" as the dean calls it that - if the students don't contest that early - means they accept and will abide by until course card day.

Just like the law, ignorance of this is no excuse especially for a third year student.

I was able to tell her that there is no other word for her son's absences but "chronic".

One of the conditions I set for him being accepted back in my class is for a letter of commitment not to be absent anymore for the remainder of the term, and to make up for the experiment he is supposed to submit a report on.

By her questions, she also indicated that she knows, or at least her son knows, what his classmates think of him, and that she wanted more information I would not provide.

The excuse she gave for him is about not being able to move on after having broken up with his girlfriend "a long time ago" which probably means at least two years past since he's been exhibiting this same behavior with the other teachers.

And that's the short version of our discussion.

Session 2061 doesn't believe the student will be able to commit. Class dismissed.