“What do you mean I only get a B-?” A shrill voice screeches through my office door. I sigh, knowing what was coming.

“Come in Marlene.” And that she does. She barges through the door, angrily waving a paper in my face. She slaps it on my desk and starts babbling incoherently.

“What do- what the- ah-?” She looks at me, waiting for a reply.

“Well I think that question is the answer to your first question. Your paper was just about as clearly formulated as that sentence. You cannot expect to get a good grade if you don’t possess the ability to pose structured questions.”

“But I, I’m second in the class. I know what I’m doing.” She tries to regain some confidence after noticing how she’d belittled herself.

“You obviously don’t. Take some responsiblity for your actions, suck it up, and do better next time. And learn some English. Don’t keep playing the victim here.”

“But it’s not fair!” She whines in a hideous voice.

I sigh. I will never understand how some of these people got into college.