I open the e-mail

this morning and discover that Sam has finally sent his essay. It is due in at midday today. I am tempted to tell him I will not read it. He finished it after midnight. Finished it? I am not sure about this. It is a mess. He was working under pressure. Sam working under pressure means that Sam makes mistakes. Sam makes lots of mistakes. If he passed it in like that he would be failed outright.
His understanding of the material is superficial. I know nothing about building consruction but even I can see that the issues in respect of recycling are more complex than he is making them out to be. I would like to see what sort of effort the top student in the class can produce. Standards have dropped but they surely have not dropped as far as Sam's effort.
He thinks he is working. He probably is working as best he knows how. He means well. He is polite and kind and willing to help other people. He is just not cut out to be a student.
The question is, how much do you help someone like Sam? If he is going to fail in the end is it better to let him fail now? He's 23 - already older than average.
There will be a different sort of explosion later this morning when Dad rings his cousin. Dad needs a cricket bat. ( Do not ask!) Malcolm is the one with cricket bats.... Malcolm is the one who keeps telling Dad he needs to watch the cricket... hmmm.