I already suspect that most of your readers will tell me not to bother, but I wanted to ask for advice about a student who's almost sunk herself so far.
Yes, I still want to help. Maybe I'm naive for doing it, but this is a student who I think has real potential. She's just scattered and busy, and loving college much more for the fun than for the classes.
Abysmal Attendance Alice has exceeded the number of absences on my syllabus, she's failed to turn in 2 of the main projects, but when she is there, and when she does take part, she's quite spectacular. She's very smart, voices her thoughts well, is considerate of other opinions, and when she's attended her special groups meetings, she's been a valuable and valued member of her team. She's high spirited, fascinating, and I think she's missing out on what she could become.But she's down to 4 weeks left, and the grading math just doesn't work for her. I've had a couple of quick conversations with her about attending and the missed work, but she's just polite, friendly, and always scooting off to something else. She doesn't seem freaked out about what she's missing, and doesn't seem to care that she's not getting the work done. Yet, I hate to simply let this go.
Don't roll your eyes. Maybe I see some of myself in Alice, and I had folks come to my aid when I didn't deserve it.
Q: Assuming I'm not a complete fool for taking it on, what could/should I do to help her make up the work and move on to the next level with a little steam and encouragement?
