Revealing the grade was pretty unprofessional - but since it is the SL - can't have expectations of professionalism.
The issue of the failing grade - in a known do-or-die situation reveals a lot - in particular it reveals the Barnwell has a lot of growing up to do - as is also evidenced by the other issues that have now been revealed.
It is interesting that there are some kids who 'get it' and some who really have not yet gotten to that point.
One of the great secrets of academics is that, in a number of courses, it is not exactly all of the minutia of the specific class that is most important - actually the subject matter can almost, in a way, be secondary. Do not get fixated on the stupidity or inaneness of the subject matter - to a kid who might say " XXXX is stupid - I'll never us it in my life - why do I need to know this crap?" - the answer is often - you won't - but that is not what this is about - it is a different kind of challenge - it is all about demonstrating that you can take in & digest a quantity of new (and often strange to you) material - organize & retain it in your mind & then present it back in a manner that demonstrates that you have grasped the content.
The 'game' of passing a class is not that hard -
(1.) can you show up for every class?
(2.) sit in the front of the room / appear legitimately engaged in the lecture?
(3.) do the homework & papers
The overall key point is figuring out the challenge of the class - what is being measured - what is the standard for success that the professor is utilizing?
The other issue - don't get fooled by the idea of "slacker coolness" - the idea that it is desirable, popular & impressive to demonstrate a cavalier attitude toward academics & glide by -
- - that is the sucker game - can guarantee you that there are kids who get swept up into this - and then when it comes time for graduation (if they hang around that long) they are:
(1.) sadly finding out that they lack the credits or the GPA to graduate
(2.) totally stunned to find out that one of their "slacker" - party animal colleagues ... was actually a "stealth scholar' who had a knack for quickly grasping the goals of the class, crafted & executed an efficient strategy for meeting/exceeding the professor's requirements.
