Is this too harsh to email to this guy? I was forced to pass him today, and he had the gall to send a thank-you email to me. Not that the twit would read it, but maybe I could get it translated. He deserves some kind of harsh response, considering the crap he pulled to get a pass in the class — rather disgusting as I’m sure you’ll agree — but I’m not sure whether what I’ve written below crosses the line.
NAME,
Don’t thank me. As far as I’m concerned, you don’t deserve the grade you got. NOBODY thinks you deserve it. You don’t deserve it and EVERYONE knows it. It’s obvious.
I didn’t give you a D because I wanted to be nice to you. I gave you a D because I had no choice. You deserve to fail the class and not graduate, and do you know why?
It’s not because you didn’t come to the final exam. I can accept an emergency as a reason for missing a final exam. But you waited three weeks and then started asking about your grade. How old are you? This is a child’s behaviour. But it’s not even because you waited a LONG time to contact me after the final exam.
You deserve to fail, more than anything, because you were a terrible student (in my class). I don’t care about your school elections management job: that was only a couple of classes. But name, YOU ATTENDED CLASS *5 TIMES*. You missed 10 classes! That’s 20 hours of instruction that you missed. You obviously didn’t learn any English from me. You didn’t get anything worthwhile from me. NOTHING. Why do you thank me? All you got was a made-up grade that was a lie.
By the way, your thank-you letter to me is in Korean. Did you stop to think about this? You have studied English for 2 years or more at this University and you can’t even write short apology/thank-you letter to your teacher in English? What have you been doing? Did you skip all of your English classes?
If you haven’t learned to come to class after four years of University, then you ought to fail and not get a degree until you learn that lesson well enough to pass your courses fairly. That’s my opinion. A real education teaches responsibility. When I was a student, if I missed a lot of classes, then I simply accepted the fact I’d fail. Why? Because I’m an adult. You acted like a child, expecting protection when you didn’t come to class almost every week. I don’t know how you got into student government, but the fact is, you’re one of the worst students I’ve ever had.
And what makes you the absolute worst student I’ve ever had is that, if I understand correctly, you actually ABUSED your position in student government to get a passing grade. Because you could call someone to help you, my office secretaries got TOLD that you must be given a D. This is the most miserable, dishonorable thing a student can do. It’d be rotten enough if you just showed up and begged for a passing grade. But you didn’t do that. You ABUSED YOUR POSITION IN STUDENT GOVERNMENT to get a passing grade and graduate. That is simply WRONG, and it MAKES ME SICK.
So don’t say thank you. Don’t talk to me. Don’t consider yourself a university graduate, because what you are is a cheater. I hope you remember that when you are receiving your diploma. You CHEATED, and don’t deserve it, and the only way you got it is by forcing people to LIE for you. Other students at least put in a little work to receive a D. You didn’t even bother to do that. I’ve had mentally retarded students — literally mentally handicapped students — who worked harder in my class than you did.
So congratulations. You got yourself a diploma that you didn’t earn. I hope you’re proud of your ability to manipulate, lie, and cheat. That is what your diploma represents.
Don’t email me again.
Gord
I’d err on the side of not sending, if that was more than a rhetorical question. Karma will meet him someday.
I wouldn’t send that, as it could come back and bite you in the ass if he complains about recieving an email like. Of course that assumes he can even read it.
Cuccu,
I tried to leave a comment on your site, but there is no comment form. Anyhow, I was wondering why you moved from EE to EE core – isn’t that a bit of a step down?
BTW my blogs are powered by EE.
Gord:
I think the thing to recognize in Korea is that interaction with people is a bit like martial arts. The way to defeat someone (if that is what you are trying to do) is to use their own momentum against them. By writing what you’ve written, you come across as bitter and defeated, since you make clear that you have had to give way to a higher power. In these circumstances, it is best either not to say anything or to say something totally incomprehensible. To express your disgust by baffling the other person.
How to take the latter course is difficult in this case, but I think that would be the route to go. Perhaps one method would be to write a short e-mail saying something like this:
Dear Name,
Thank you very much for your e-mail. However, I think you must have made a mistake. As far as I can remember, I never had someone in my class with your name. You must be confusing me with another professor.
Yours,
Gord
Tony,
That’s a very interesting approach.
Others, maybe I shan’t send it. But then again, other teachers in my office were saying I ought to go call out the person who demanded a pass, since I’m leaving this semester. I wouldn’t go so far as that, but I did feel like telling the guy he’s an idiot. Because his actions disgust me, is all.
Maybe I’ll send an email expressing hopes that he can cheat and fake his way through the rest of his life. That’d be fair, and short.
EFL Geek, comments should be open now at my site…you’re welcome to continue the conversation there.
I like Tony’s idea.
Hey Young One, Thought you’d learned by now….”face” is tyhe BIG DEAL here…Tony’s approach seems to me to be most effective….go one further (maybe) Does this ‘Geek’have an open line in his post in “Student Govt” ….the ‘I don’t recall a student of your calibre in any of my classes….” where t could be read by other’s would likely result in some ‘loss of face’ for the “Geek”
” Graincook no more”
Dad,
I’m not sure I understand your comment completely. But I can say that, since he’s graduating, I don’t think it’d matter all that much to him. And I’m not really out to publicly humiliate him… if I were, I’d have gotten something posted on the University website. All I want to do is privately shame him over this. But then again, maybe he knows no shame.
What I would like publicly exposed, however, is the atmosphere of academic corruption. I would like it to be known outside of the University that for students like this guy, who absolutely ridiculously suck, all that’s required to get a degree is that one has connections or whines long enough about being a 4th year and not graduating unless he passes your class. That students do it is pathetic but understandable, here. That a university would capitulate to it is awful. But since it’s long been the practice to capitulate, I did so out of sympathy for the secretaries who would have otherwise been nagged to no end.
Too bad he was not born in the USA. He sounds like he could be the heir-apparent to Ted Kennedy….
Well, for what it’s worth, I don’t think you should send it, either. Apparently his behavior is normal within this country, so I recommend letting it go. You may want to consister addressing the larger issue within the pages of the English language papers, or (better), getting someone to translate a letter for you, and getting it published in a mainstream daily.
Nathan,
That sounds like a good idea. Maybe I’ll go that route, though, again, I’m suspicious the response would be more defensive against a foreigner’s criticisms than any kind of rational recognition of the problem. People already know it’s a problem. The thing is, nobody’s willing to stand up and demand it change. Or, no large groups of people are.
John — heh. Yeh. But as Nathan notes, this is not such unusual behaviour here.
By the way Nathan, I’ll be living near Seoul (on the subway line) in March. May meet you then.
Very good! In the mean time, I have a question for you? Which are the most inspiring and useful blogs that you read? I want to expand my sidebar a bit, so I thought I’d ask my own favorite bloggers this question.
Very good! In the mean time, I have a question for you, which I hope you have the time to answer. Which are the most inspiring and useful blogs that you read? I want to expand my sidebar a bit, so I thought I’d ask my own favorite bloggers this question.
Oops, I thought I caught that one in time…
Nathan,
There are a lot of blogs I wish I had more time to read. You can find them all listed on my Blogroll. The most interesting are at the top of each category.
Let me know if you find anything you like.
Your guy was so lucky. But if he went to colleges in Seoul, he wouldn’t be able to graduate. When I was a TA in a University in Seoul (my alumni school) almost a decade ago, I gave “F” to a few students. One student was Korean Japanese who hardly understood Korean but got in the university under the advantage program for Korean nationals abroad (or kyopos). She was already suspended for her previous semesters, so it was her last chance. But regardless of her poor situation, I gave her F, which she deserved. Another student, who also failed, got in the school for the special program (she was handicapped). I gave her F too. All other students who failed under my supervision were cheaters during the exams. There was absolutely no mercy for those students. And I wasn’t the only one who was so harsh about it. I just followed the rule like everybody else did in my University…
I don’t think that things have been changed for the past 10 years. Colleges or Universities in or around Seoul are still very tough on grading, as long as I know.
sounds like he’s going to be a politician someday. best not to send the letter. don’t screw with power (however misplaced it may be)! :P
June,
Yeah, he was very lucky. He deserved to fail. I guess I imagined that this kind of academic corruption extended even up to Seoul. I should have known it was more of a country-school thing.
And c(h)ristine, I’m not sure he’s going to be a politician, but… I have decided NOT to send him any email at all. But I may write something else about this, somewhere else.