Two ways to greatness — Improvement and Diminishment

When I was in school a D was considered barely passing. You’d get a D if your grade on a test or assignment was 65%-69%. It wasn’t failing but it wasn’t good by any stretch of the imagination.

So let’s imagine a scenario — you got a 68% on a test. The person next to you didn’t do so hot either — they barely got by with a 65%. They have been struggling all year, asking for help. They don’t get the help they need though. There are rumors about this classmate — that they are do drugs, that their family has a violent history, that they cheat (although they clearly aren’t good at it given the D). These rumors are pretty well known by most of the student body, and even the teachers. There’s no evidence for any of it though. Just rumors. Regardless, both of you got a D. How’s it feel to be pretty much the same as the supposed cheater?

There’s at least two directions that this can go. For the sake of simplicity, let’s narrow in on two. First, you could go to the teacher and tell them that you saw your classmate cheating. You could come up with a whole elaborate story about how this classmate cheated, playing into the rumors. You might even craft some kind of paper forgery to show. It depends on how creative you want to be. The teacher buys your story and turns the D into an F. Your grade doesn’t change. But at least you are better than that rotten cheater who sits next to you. Maybe you can figure out a way to get them removed from the class too.