Sometimes it pays to complain

I have to laugh, and not derisively, at the following story. One of my students who has frustrated me this term more than a little bit is a basketball player; he is apparently a good one, too, because he is here on scholarship for it. He is a sweet kid and not terribly bright, but I admit to having a bit of a snarky attitude toward sports folk because I know how the various systems they have encountered in their lives have more often catered to them than not. When I get requests for grade progress, I tend to be more irritated because I fear that I am expected to treat the student in question with some kind of special concern and I don't.

But here's where my own bias has proven to be both a good thing for all concerned and a lesson in assumptions for me:

When this kid started not showing up to class and giving me lame-ass excuses about practices and road trips for the team, I promptly (and somewhat defensively) told him that I didn't care what he had to do where - things are due for him just like everyone else. I was incensed at his near dismissal of the midterm project and when I got the opportunity to comment on his "progress" to the person asking, I let it all out. Held nothing back. Said that in no uncertain terms that if his butt was not in a seat come class time on the due date with his midterm in hand, I was giving him an F and that would be the end of it. I expected backlash and backpedaling.

What I got was a prompt response from the head of athletics and a personal phone call from the kid's coach, stating that this kid would be in class, with his homework, and if I had even one more ounce of trouble, that I was to report immediately to the coach. Somewhat shocked and still skeptical, I awaited class time; sure enough, he was there, with his project that he clearly did himself, in hand. And it wasn't half bad.

This past weekend, I got an email from the coach, who was "checking in" to make sure that his player was doing EVERYTHING he was supposed to be doing. I wrote back and told the truth: his attendance is still spotty and he is often late, but assignments are getting done. The coach just called me in my office to tell me that the ball player will never again be late or he will be doing the penance he is doing this afternoon: running laps with a medicine ball. When I told the coach he was on time today, his response was, "I'd go get him from the track, but it's probably good for him anyway."

If only we all had someone threatening us with medicine balls and laps in the hot sun...goodness knows my work would already be done and I wouldn't be sitting here avoiding it. Ha.