A little bleak, isn't it? Well, it kind of goes with the end of term. The end of term, as any student knows, brings FINAL EXAMS, and that's not a relaxing thought. It's stressful for everyone - them and me - and it's also likely to be very depressing. Students fail, and that makes them unhappy. In some cases, it makes me unhappy, too. Some deserve to fail - they haven't got the talent, or the inclination, or whatever to go on. Sometimes, though, someone who shouldn't fail, does. I hate when that happens, and this term it has. One of the "catches" to science courses is that there is a lab component and a theory component, and you have to pass both to pass overall. One of my favourite students, who is doing fine on the theory side, failed on the lab side. Very depressing.