College students have so much to deal with. One of the students taking my exam this morning came up in tears a few minutes ago because she was robbed at gunpoint by three men a few days ago and was having trouble concentrating — ya think?? She's been a really good student all semester, very conscientious, and she's really upset that she won't do well on the final because she can't clear her head long enough to get through the essay. She had told me this and sat back down to finish what she could, when another guy came in (over an hour late) and told me he had just been in a car accident on his way to school. Most students in the class have finished already, since my exams are pretty straightforward if they come prepared, so he should have enough time, but he's still noticeably shaken.

Other students in my classes this semester have had ranges of problems from kidney surgery and threatened miscarriage to deaths in the immediate family and one girl's having been kicked out of University housing after being accused repeatedly of stalking another student. She's transfering to a different school next semester to get away from this other person.

I thought college was hard for me, but my biggest problems involved finding enough hours in the day to do everything I had committed to doing. Man, these kids have a lot on their plates.

Labels: school

• posted by erica 5/10/2007 10:13:00 AM
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