Everyday Dilemma

The last paragraph of the last essay I read this term--from an exceptional student whose unexpected end-of-the-semester struggles prohibited her from submitting work that more accurately shows her real ability:  "It is clear that the author didn't address the prompt [in this essay], but she honest only wrote this paper so that her professor couldn't fail her in the class on the premise of not turning in the paper.  She obviously understands that her behavior near the end of the semester is unacceptable, but she has been tired and has the final of her English class to pass."  This student's amazing potential was--at least temporarily--eclipsed by the kinds of personal challenges that so many community college students face.   I find her response simultaneously heartbreaking and heartening . . . .