Can We Please Have Some Extra Credit?

The 1st quarter of school ended about one week ago.  And as you may have guessed it, with that time came a flood of students with a sudden concern for their grades.  These are the students who don’t do any real work all quarter, float through class without a care in the world, never ask questions, participate, or show any genuine interest.  Imagine my surprise when now I find them checking up on grades, and asking for assignments back to see how many points they had earned.

I was happy to see they were enthusiastic about improving, but at the same time very disheartened that they would wait ’til the last moment to show such enthusiasm.  Because really, how much could any student possibly improve a bad grade a week before the quarter ends?

The culminating moment of desperation came on the morning of the last Friday of the quarter.  A student approached me after I had finished teaching a new lesson asking me what in the world she could possibly do to improve her grade.  She absolutely couldn’t take home a D to her parents.  She said she would do anything:  extra credit, assignments, projects, retakes, redos, etc.  I just looked her like, “Are you kidding?”

I picked up a pile of homework that had been turned in that morning and quickly glanced through the papers.  Hers wasn’t in there.  So I asked her, “Did you do your homework?”

Embarassed she said, “No.”
I continued,”But you want extra credit?”
“Yes.”
“But you won’t do regular credit?”
“I couldn’t.”
“So you have time for extra work, but not regular work?”
“Please miss, I’ll do anything.”
“Did you do the extra credit assignment I gave the class last week?”
“Ummm…..”
“Seriously?  On the last day of class you want me to scrounge up MORE extra work for *you* to do?”
“Ummm….I just need another chance.”
“No.  I gave you 25 chances… it’s called homework!”

She went back to her seat after that because she knew I wouldn’t budge.  I don’t know if I was being too mean, but I couldn’t handle it.  How can a student spend the whole quarter turning down every opportunity I gave her to earn points, neglect assignments, and then at the end of all of it, beg me for more work to do?  To give her one more chance?

The worst part is, even though I know I’m right about not giving her another chance, students like her manage to make teachers feel like we’re being unreasonable.  But are teachers unreasonable?  Or are the students unreasonable?

I figure the students are unreasonable because they remind me of some other unreasonable people I’ve read about.

Those will have lost who deny the meeting with Allah , until when the Hour [of resurrection] comes upon them unexpectedly, they will say, “Oh, [how great is] our regret over what we neglected concerning it,” while they bear their burdens on their backs. Unquestionably, evil is that which they bear. (6:31)

Or [lest] it [the souls] say when it sees the punishment, “If only I had another turn so I could be among the doers of good.” But yes, there had come to you My verses, but you denied them and were arrogant, and you were among the disbelievers.  (39:58-59)

In these verses Allah is describing to us a group of people who will come on the Day of Judgment with regret and remorse for what they could have done in this life [this quarter].  They will be so desperate and beg to go back to this life to change their habits and earn more good deeds [extra credit] but Allah tells them they already had all their chances and they can’t go back.  They’ll only go forward into the Hellfire.

Similarly, my students wasted the ten weeks they were given and neglected their assignments.  And what were they most likely doing in its stead?  Calling their friends?  Going on the computer?  Hanging out at the mall?  Playing video games?  And how did they feel when their grades were going to be distributed?  They were so full of regret and remorse while begging and hunting for any opportunity to earn extra points at the end of the quarter.

Luckily, what happens in my classroom is just for school, and students do get another chance… the next quarter.  But imagine if these were feelings we had on the Day of Judgment!  Begging Allah for extra time to go back and earn “extra credit” because we didn’t use the time given to us wisely.  It’s a scary thought.

Moral of the story:  don’t trivialize your opportunities to earn good deeds and have any regret on the Day of Judgment!