I take it personally too when students are not preforming well in my course, but I think it is important also to maintain a little bit of professional distance from these feelings in so far as, as this course has suggested, an institution cannot address all the different factors which put stress on a student and prevent attrition. Sometimes I do not have the resources needed to help a student stay and school and succeed, be it time or physical resources. There is a limit to what can be done, what one can committ to an individual student, and it is just as important to keep this in mind as it is to maintain a sense that we are doing all we can to help or students master the subject, feel positive and be successful.
