Have you ever fallen in love with a student?

...figuratively, of course, but by the end of the semester the romance is over? It happened to me this semester. At the beginning of the semester, I was fascinated by this brilliant freshman who had a hunger for learning. Ze asked, Ze argued, ze elevated the level of the classroom discussion. Well, ze remains as brilliant as before, but now I see hir as cocky, stubborn, and with a fixed worldview that no amount of discussion will ever make hir question. When you point out to holes in hir arguments, ze just repeats them. Now, ze is convinced that no country has ever done more damaged to the world, ever, than the United States. When I told hir that a few countries could give the United States a run for its money in that category, ze just scoffed. When I pointed out (just to play Devil's advocate) that hir beloved France had developed most of the torture methods taught by the School of America and applied in Latin America, ze brushed it off. I told hir to look at what had happened in Algeria during the country struggle for independence, and hir reply was that it was only for a decade, in comparison with the prolonged US intervention in Latin America. I certainly don't feel like defending the US, but that kind of close-mindedness drives me nuts. In addition, ze hasn't been to class in over a week (and I've seen hir on campus, so ze wasn't sick), and hir final paper, while better than many in hir class, is just plain lazy. A B+ from somebody who could get an A, and even a brilliant A if ze worked hard enough. Oh well, lesson learned. And with some luck, ze'll grow up in the next few years.