One of the more difficult things I’ll be doing this semester is not passing a student who, in my opinion, has no reason to be taking the class or ENC1102 for that matter. The essays he handed in were exemplary in both form and content and engaging in thought and language. His understanding of the material (despite a tendency for absenteeism) is impressive and, based on the few times I’ve spoken to him, he’s able to string together legitimate arguments/separate trains of thought in impromptu fashion. If what he’s told me about his personal life is true, there’s a lot on his plate outside of school: a business he’s running, family he’s looking after. So there are supposed reasons for his truancy–not that any of it matters without documentation.
To my fault, I’ve been particularly lenient with him on due dates because the quality of his work is of such high order–and also the fact he was added to my class almost two weeks after starting. But with neither essay 4, 5, and so far 6 handed in, he’s not giving me any other options.
It’s a lesson he’ll learn. An important one at an non-detrimental stage of his academic career: You can be brilliant as fuck but if there’s no effort there, it ain’t going to help.