Second Thoughts

So grades were due on Monday (2 days ago), and the last day of the 6 week grading period was the Friday before. Well, on Tuesday a student asked me if I had her grades and if she passed. This after her last minute (post last minute, as she turned things in on Monday) flurry of turning in late work for partial credit .... anyhoo, she did not pass (68%) .... [in Texas, the lowest passing grade apparently is a 70%]. Then she starts in on the, "is there anything I can do? I have to pass?" spiel. Oh my .... it wouldn't be so sad if it didn't happen every 6 weeks (this last minute flurry). Regardless to say, she did not pass.

Then (and here's where my 2nd thoughts come in). On that Friday (or was it Monday), I had another kid who's as smart as a whip bookwise, but a real a**hole otherwise. After doing his grades, he was squeeeeeeking by with a 68 or 69%. He happened to be in the room at the time and I had him redo this one particular assignment that he had turned in, and that boosted him up to a 70%. ..... So come today in class, I'm on one side of the room, and 1/2 way across the room I see him swaggering with a jerky bravado and bragging to one of his friends that he had passed all his classes .... the friend asked, "even this one?", and the jerky kid leans over and whispers something to the friend and they both chuckle. Hmph. Did I do the kid any favors, or did I just do him a disservice by helping pass by forcing him to redo an assignment? Back and forth and back and forth I'm wondering.