"Do students make really strange choices?"Professor Assante asked. The other professors looked up from their lunches. "What do you mean?" one asked.

"At the beginning of each class I give short quizzes that count as 50% of the final grade," Professor Assante replied. "One of my students comes late to every class, even though I keep telling her there's no way she can pass the course if she keeps missing the quizzes. But she still keeps coming late! What is she thinking?"

"That's nothing," Professor Buckley said. "I've got a really bright student who attends every class and offers great comments during the discussions. But the semester is almost over, and he still hasn't turned in any assignments. At this point, he's too far behind to pass. Now that's what I call a strange choice."

You think that's strange," Professor Chen said, "I'm teaching English in the computer lab. Last week I sat down next to a woman who was working on her essay, and I suggested a way she could improve her introduction. I couldn't believe what she did. She swoare at me, stormed out of the room, and slammed the door."

Professor Donelly chimed in. "Well, I can top all of you. In my philosophy class, participation counts for one-third of the final grade. I've got a student this semester who hasn't said a word in twelve weeks. Even when I call on him, he just shakes his head and says something under his breath that I can't hear. One day after class, I asked him if he realized that if he didn't participate in class discussions, the best grade he could earn is a D. He just mumbled 'I know'. Now there's a choice I don't get!"

How about this! Professor Egret said. "I had a student last semester with a B average going into the final two weeks. Then he disappeared. This semester, I ran into him on campus and I asked what happened. 'Oh", he said, "I got burned out and stopped going to my classes' 'But you only had two more weeks to go. You threw away thirteen weeks of work,' I said. You know what he did? He shrugged his shoulders and walked away. I wanted to shake him and say, 'What is wrong with you?"

Professor Fanning said, "Talk about strange choices. Last week I had a business owner visit my marketing class. Near the end of the period, a student asked if the business owners had ever had problems with procrastination. While the business owner was thinking about an answer I joked, "Maybe you'd rather answer later". Weak humor, I admit, but then the owner answered the question. The next day I got a call from the Dean. The student who'd asked about procrastination told him I'd mocked her in front of the whole class and now she's going to drop out of college! What is it with students today and their bizarre choices?

Answer-

1) Speculate as to what kind of "inner language" the student was using.

2) What past experiences might have made him or her that way? What emotions might he or she often feel? What beliefs might he or she have about himself, other people, or the world.

3) What was the payoff and price for the students choice