The Student Who Thought That the Course Is Not Challenging Enough for Her

I want to share a story which happened to me yesterday.

Yesterday, during the break, I asked this student whether she sent me a long email at the end of Term 1 asking for my clarification regarding her grades. Ironically, yesterday was the first time she ever showed up in my class in this Term.

After receiving the grade from Term 1, she sent me a very long email asking for clarification and explanation of her grades (for which I am the primary marker). I gave her a B (Bs and Cs but B overall); and apparently she seemed a bit disappointed, as shown in the sharp email where she defended her work.

At the end of the email, she asked whether she is above the average or below the average. I did respond to her and mentioned that I was happy to schedule a personal tutorial for clarification. I thought she was a keen student, but, to my surprise, she never responded to my email.

This is very strange to me, as I noticed she cares much about the grades but less about the education. This is also as evidenced by the fact that she missed every session of my teaching this term, and yesterday was the first time I saw her in this term.

This student told me that she thinks that the course is not challenging her much intellectually and that she wanted people to be harsher on her. However, I told her that she did not respond to me when I offered an explanation on her grades. I pointed out the fact that she only received a B last term indicates that she has a great room for improvement. In fact, the student told me that my colleague (her other teacher) pointed out exactly the same thing.

In my teaching career, I have encountered a few students like her – the ones who unreasonably think that they are better than the course (and possibly most classmates), and hence lose most chances to learn more. The scenario about her is also quite particular, as she is ‘keen’ enough to challenge my grading, but not ‘keen’ enough to actually talk to me and learn more.

In the work she turned in for Term 1, she mentioned her design is supposed to be appealing to non-binary people, but it was unclear how she is challenging, questioning, or criticising the gendered norms/codes, or any social constructs. In fact, her work seemed to be excessively feminine, dressed by a female model who appears to fit in most gendered norms.

I would have been convinced if her idea were somewhat related to femininity and how women should be able to show their skin when they want it, how they want it, with whom they want it, at where they want it. I suggested a few books in my Term 1 feedback to her, The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir, Gender Trouble by Judith Butler, and Mythologies by Roland Barthes. (When we talked, she admitted that she did not do much research and has not read of the suggested books.)

Well, in our conversation, she told me that she felt quite stuck in her photographic practice and she wanted to make her photography less ‘commercial’.

Even though I am sure ‘less commercial’ is not the best way to put it, I understand she is on her journey to find her style.

She has really good photography skills. However, I am able to convince her that she can only push forward her photography by knowing more about Feminism and gendered norms. That is how she could present her own criticism on it. I also showed her pictures of Weegee, Daido Moriyama, and Nan Goldin, who are challenging social norms; and I talked about how we see the photographers’ presence in the images.  

Well, I also told her we could have had this conversation much earlier if she were to come to my class much earlier. She agreed.

At least she is interested in a certain subject matter; and she seems to be able to absorb what I taught her. We will see how she will go from this point on.