Reading Response to Professor X’s “In the Basement of the Ivory Tower”

In "In the Basement of the Ivory Tower", Professor X writes about how many students are struggling in college. I chose the passage below to include in this paper because it just doesn't make sense to me and if I elaborate on it maybe I will understand.

"When I am at my best, and the students are in an attentive mood-generally early in the semester-the room crackles with positive energy. Even the cops-to-be feel driven to succeed in the class, to read and love the great books, to explore the potent themes, to write well.
The bursting of our collective bubble come quickly. A few weeks into the semester, the students must start actually writing papers, and I must start grading them. Despite my enthusiasm, despite their thoughtful nods of agreement and what I have interpreted as moments of clarity, it turns out that in many cases it has come to a naught.
Remarkably few of my students can do well in these classes. Students routinely fail, some fail multiple times, and some will never pass, because they cannot write a coherent sentence."

In other words, Professor X is saying that many of his students are losing interest in his class half way though it. Before they were just reading books in class, but when the writing portion of the class comes along, no one is interested. It's like they enjoy the fun stuff, which to them is no homework, only reading which doesn't take that much time. But when they actually have to write about what they read and what-not, they don't like it any more because they have to think and write, which according to Professor X not many people know how to do. It's not until the students start seeing the grades on their papers, does the seriousness of the class actually start to sink in. Since Professor X has stated that some student fail the class, it seems to me that if they see that they get a bad grade on a paper they thought was really good and the grade doesn't go up with time that the students start to lose faith in their writing ability and gradually give up.
Without this little section of writing, the article loses some of it’s main concept, the concept that many student lose interest in the class half way though it. Sure Professor X lets you know about this concept in other paragraphs, but this one explains about his personal experience.
When I first read this passage, I was struck with sadness. I can't believe that so many people fail a class. I mean, it's understandable if they fail it once, they were confused, didn't turn in all the assignments, and/or didn't pay attention in class. But failing a class multiple times that just doesn't make sense. If that kept happening in a class that I taught,it would make me wonder if they were even paying attention to the class and what I was teaching or if there was something wrong with my teachings, in a way that what I am saying is not getting through to the students. I remember not doing well in a particular class and when I confronted the teacher about it, he walked me through how what I had done was not correct and continued to show me what to do in order to make it a better report. Sure I understand that teachers and professors can't do that with all their students, but if they tried then maybe more students would pass their class.
What I don't understand is how student can lose interest in a class. I can understand in happening for a day when you really don't know what is going on, but for the rest of the semester? Is it the topic the professor is teaching on that causes a person to lose interest in class? Is the class just hard to understand? Or is it because of ourselves that it happens? I think the last one is the answer for the most part. We, ourselves, believe that there are better things to do than sitting around listening to a lecture, we get bored with what is going on in the classroom. When really it can only get as fun as you want to make it.
I notice through his writing that Professor X is struggling with the fact that not all of his students will pass. He wants them to succeed, but he can only do so much before the students must continue on their own. He writes in such a way that tells you he is saddened by what is accruing. At first Professor X list out the thing the students are expecting to do in the class, but then he move on to another list. This list includes all the things they did that didn’t end up helping the students succeed in the class.