The Running of the Bulls

In Pamplona, Spain each July you can see the running of the bulls. In May in Washington, D.C. if you are paying attention, you can see the running of the F's into D's. This involves what we call “make-up work” and “packets.” Obviously “packets” implies many assignments because these students have allowed themselves to get so far behind through one main method: absenteeism. There are also those who show up on a semi-regular basis but just don't finish work.

This is true for all grade levels but the game reaches a new level of intensity if the student is a senior. Let's call our senior Billy. The question is, after Billy has made it so far, do we really want to stop him from graduating?

You don't hear these exact words but the message is clear: “Lighten up and give him a packet! We really need to get our graduation numbers up and aren't we all tired of seeing Billy in this building?”

This pressure comes from the student and from the administration. Billy will come to you and say: “Mrs. (administrator) said I should ask you if there's anything I can do to get my grade up to passing.”

Another ploy used is to have Billy retake the Final Exam he failed. And I mean the *same exact Final Exam*.

If you don't play you are seen as uncooperative. If you do play you contribute to the rot of the system.

A similar scenario is often played out at the beginning of each athletic season but the serious running of the F's takes place in May.

In Spain they run in front of the bulls but here we walk behind, and you know what you get walking behind a bull.