To start, I agree with you 100% on all accounts. Some students may truly never succeed but I think that by declaring the case closed and assuming it's purely a

To start, I agree with you 100% on all accounts. Some students may truly never succeed but I think that by declaring the case closed and assuming it's purely a function of student ability, we lose out on valuable information about humans learn because: what if that's wrong? The fact that the goalposts can be moved is awesome and a testament to what can happen if we assume that it's a communication or motivation problem, not student ability. There are lots of fringe students who just think oddly. Living in cooperative housing in Austin has really driven this home. They require odd teachers.