A few years ago a student in the second year of our 3-year degree program did so poorly that his study had to be terminated according to our university’s regulations. Part of his defense was that he was so heavily involved in student association activities that his studies suffered. He pleaded that he had realized his mistakes and was confident that with hard work, he could perform much better and catch up. We had some sympathies with him but felt that his performance up to that point was too far behind the required level to catch up – to maintain a C grade average. Hence we denied his first appeal. He persisted and eventually persuaded the dean of our faculty to grant him another chance.
Amazingly he started getting As and Bs instead of the Cs, Ds (marginal failures), and even Fs (failures) that he was consistently getting before. Eventually he did a good final year project and was able to graduate with a decent record.
His case tells us that in some cases a student who performed poorly can indeed turn around and be successful. Unfortunately he was an exception rather than the norm. Should we continue to keep giving them second and third chances? With limited resources, generosity towards one student may deny another student a chance to study at the university. How is one to decide?
5 comments:
I remember I got only 13 marks in my first HKCEE exam....the result was even not qualified to Form 6.....so, I did self-study (without school life, without work)in following year and this year change my attitude so much......
I think anything is a chance; it depends how we use it....
Of course. When there is a will, there is a way.
In your case, it is great that your response to a setback is to determine to overcome it with hardwork. It is not easy to nuture that steel in a student though.
In an ideal world, we could afford to show generosity towards all, and being compassionate towards one wouldn't mean denying it towards another.
Hong Kong isn't ideal, but personally, I feel that for higher education, at least, the resources are adequate. Unlike the old days, when tertiary education was a privilege accessible to only a few -- today, it's practically a right.
Maybe I'm being harsh here, but I really do believe that any kid who has a good attitude and is reasonably intelligent, will make it into university and will graduate properly. After all, A's and B's aren't *that* hard to get, nowadays.
From the big picture point of view: There are enough opportunities in HK now that students who fail in one school can always go to another one. And if they are determined enough, opportunities can be found. Of course there will be prices to pay, both in terms of finances and effort. But some students may not agree.
When I originally commented I clicked the "Notify me when new comments are added" checkbox
and now each time a comment is added I get several emails with the same comment.
Is there any way you can remove people from that service?
Thanks!
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