The Grade You Earned

Amber McGinnis 

She came up to me with tears in her eyes. And I knew what was coming. I had seen this look before. I had been down this path before with students. Let's call her "Esmerelda."
Esmerelda had been in my class for the last eight weeks. While Esmerelda did some of the work assigned to her, she often blew off assignments, and frequently missed class and the content shared during class.
She missed her last individual presentation. The class after this presentation, Esmerelda approaches me three minutes before class begins.
"Hey, Ms. McG, can I speak to you for a moment?"
"Class is almost ready to begin. Could we have a conversation afterward?"