Dear failing student,

Dear failing student,
I’ve just discovered that you’re past the tipping point, and won’t pass my course.  I will spend all day thinking about you.  I’m so sad that your outcome in this course wasn’t positive.  I take it personally when even one of my students doesn’t succeed, even though I probably shouldn’t.  I know this is a big obstacle, because my course is required.  I’m a gatekeeper for the degree and the credential, which you have your sights set upon.
As tough as this may be for you, though, I hope it is also a positive experience.  I hope you learn from it, take the feedback you’ve gotten from me to heart, and use that feedback to improve your work.  I hope you don’t give up.
Sometimes it may seem, especially when I’m highlighting the errors in your paper, that I’ve got all the all the answers.  It might look like I’m doing things right and you’re doing things wrong.  What you don’t see, though, when you meet with me to go over your paper, are all of my failures.  I’ve failed plenty, and so has literally everyone who is successful at anything.  I love my career, and I have worked very hard to achieve my goal of becoming a teacher educator.  However, I never would have been on this path if I hadn’t failed, and failed hard.  Some of my failures were academic, some were professional, and some were personal.  Some were small, and some were large, but they all contributed to my growth as a person and as an educator.  In fact, these failures allowed me to learn more about myself and how to be successful than many of my successful endeavors ever did.
So when you look at this failure in your life, understand that this is but one twist in the road.  This failure is making you stronger, and more knowledgeable about yourself and about the world.
As long as you continue to persist, you are better for having failed.
Best wishes and Fight On!
Your Professor