The Equation for Seceding Success

“By junior high, the gifted program Dylan was in had come to an end. Like many kids that age, he was excruciatingly conscious of anything that might make him stand out from the crowd.  In junior high, he told me, it wasn’t cool to be smart.

Despite this, he continued to do well academically. By the time he was in eighth grade, his junior-high math teacher recommended he enroll in an algebra class at Columbine High School. Dylan refused to go. All three of us met with his teacher to weigh the pros and cons. It’s intimidating enough to start high school as a ninth grader, let alone to go there a year early, and the logistics of getting him back and forth safely were complicated. Together we concluded it would be best to let Dylan stay at the junior high for math.”

– Sue Klebold, “A Mother’s Reckoning”

—

“He was one of those kids that didn’t pay a lot of attention.  He got a B in the [ninth grade] class, but he didn’t work very hard.  And he was just a normal student.  But as a senior, he was one of those kids that just wore grubby clothes all the time, wore his hat back wards all the time…He was going to do the very least amount of work possible.  That’s basically what he did.  He tried to talk me one time into letting him not have to come to class–just show up on the days of the tests.  And I said, “No.  You have a choice.  You can come to class and stay awake, or you can drop the class.”  But he barely passed the first semester AP calculus.  I’m not sure he would’ve passed second semester.  He was borderline.  ‘Cause he just didn’t work hard–he was a slacker.  The kids had nothing to do with him, but when kids act and behave like that, the other kids that are in AP calculus, the really good kids, don’t want anything to do with him.“

 – Dylan’s calculus teacher, Mr. Joe Higgins, discussing Dylan Klebold from a 2004 interview, Understanding Columbine, by Ralph Larkin, p. 81. 

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Dylan’s AP Calculus roster is on page JC-001-010453.

Remarks from Dylan’s progress report from his diversion file about the aforesaid AP Calculus class:

September 17, 1998: Period 3 calculus – 69.7% – D.  
Sleeps during class, didn’t retake 1st test. Higgins.

October 13, 1998: AP Calculus –
Dylan Klebold, you have received 74.43% of the available points, and your grade is a C.

November 3, 1998: AP Calculus –
Dylan Klebold, you have received 74.29% of the available points, and your grade is a C.

December 1, 1998: Period 3 calculus – 67.9% – D.  
Use of class time needs to improve! Higgins.

—
Dylan’s grades were all over the map, from an A in Video to two D’s, which, notably, were not in slacker classes: French and honors chemistry. The common denominator was that Dylan rejected school because of the classroom strictures and because he didn’t like the people.

Like Magistrate DeVita, Kriegshauser understood Dylan was smarter than his grades showed. “I got the distinct impression it was lack of effort,” he said. “He seemed far more capable than that in my discussions with him. He seemed articulate and intelligent, and it just—just didn’t add up for him. Now, they were AP classes, advanced placement classes, but they still seemed low compared to what he should be doing.”

Kriegshauser told Dylan to improve his grades and if not, he would have to come into the diversion office daily to do homework and compile a weekly homework log.  At first, Dylan’s grades went up, but then dropped to an F in gym. The math teacher noted that Dylan could use his class time more appropriately, and Dylan admitted reading a book during class. Kriegshauser also confronted him on his math grade since comments from the math teacher stated that he could use his class time more appropriately.   “I told him that his effort needs to improve or he will face consequences here including possible termination,”

Kriegshauser wrote in the log. “I also confronted him on his minimizing and excuse giving. I told him to listen to himself and think about what he is saying. It all sounds like he feels like the victim although he denies this.”  
– Columbine: A True Crimes Story by Jeff Kass

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Report comments from Diversion counselor Robert Kriegshauser shows sporadic near-failing grades in math and also gym class.

Meanwhile on March 11, 1999….

“Tom and I attended parent-teacher conferences at Dylan’s high school. We’d received a midterm report the previous week showing that Dylan’s grades had dropped precipitously in calculus and English. I was pretty sure it was “senioritis,” a high school senior goofing off after being accepted to college, but wanted to touch base.

Dylan’s calculus teacher told us Dylan sometimes fell asleep in class, and had not turned in some assignments. He’d taught Dylan before, and was disappointed Dylan wasn’t more motivated. I was bothered to hear Dylan was slacking off, but not alarmed.  

“Is he being disrespectful to you?” I asked. The teacher replied with amusement, “Oh, no, not Dylan. Dylan’s never disrespectful.” I wondered aloud if being a year younger than his classmates explained his immature attitude, or if he was blowing off the subject because he planned to take it again at college. Then I worried I was making excuses for Dylan, and I shut up.

When I told the math teacher Dylan had been accepted at the University of Arizona, he seemed impressed and slightly surprised. When we mentioned the other Arizona university, he laughed and said, “Oh yes. That’s where all the jocks go after they flunk out of UCLA.” We later shared this comment with Dylan, who changed his mind about visiting the school. The upshot of our meeting was that Dylan wouldn’t fail the course if he went to class and turned in the overdue assignments.

The math teacher noted that Dylan could use his class time more appropriately, and Dylan admitted reading a book during class.”  

– Sue Klebold, A Mother’s Reckoning

According to Sue in AMR, “He met his prom date, Robyn, in class; they studied calculus together.”

The Klebold’s said that Robyn and Dylan studied Calculus together and described Robyn as a very sweet girl and again said that they don’t believe that Dylan ever considered Robyn his girlfriend and again pointed out that there were groups of kids that dated together. [JCO-01-010508]

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Robyn Anderson described Dylan as being very smart but sometimes he did not apply himself. She stated that an example of this would be Calculus where he did not like it so he did not complete his homework.

In regards to disliking any teachers, Robyn Anderson stated that Dylan Klebold did not like the Calculus teacher but added she also did not like him.  She further stated they would joke about the Calculus teacher because of his high pitched voice but Dylan Klebold never said anything mean about him. She further stated Dylan Klebold got into trouble several times because he slept in class. – Robyn Anderson [JCO-01-010624]

Anderson states that she recalls the date of the purchase of these firearms as being in December because she and Klebold were planning to study Calculus at his house because the finals for that class was December 16th and 17th with a make-up day of December I8th, 1999. Anderson believes that the date of the purchase would have to be December 13th, 1999. Robyn Anderson stated that since Dylan and she needed some calculus homework she followed him in her car up to his house.
–Robyn Anderson [JCO-01-008218]

Robyn Anderson stated the last time she talked or saw Dylan Klebold was on Monday, April 19, in their Calculus class which begins at approximately 8:25 a.m. She stated she had been gone for a week and April 19 was the first day for her back at school since being gone. She continued by stating the last time she saw Dylan Klebold was after Calculus class on Monday when Dylan and another friend of hers by the first name of Joe were walking down the hallway after the class. She stated that Joe had a class close to hers downstairs following their Calculus class together. She stated that Dylan would also walk with them for about a minute since he was en route to his Video Productions class and then he would turn off with Joe and her continuing on to their classes. She confirmed that was the last time she saw Dylan Klebold as he was walking towards his Video Productions class.When asked if Dylan Klebold seemed different on the morning of 04/19/99, Robyn Anderson replied not really but that he was kind of quiet. She further stated there were a lot of mornings that he was quiet but she attributed this to him being tired in the mornings. She described Dylan Klebold as not being a morning person and that on weekends if he could he would sleep until noon or 1 o’ clock. She stated it was not odd if he was quiet on most mornings although sometimes he was talkative.
– Robyn Anderson [JCO-01-010624]

Friedman advised he had a calculus class with Klebold and a history and English class with Harris, Friedman advised that Klebold was always quiet in calculus class. He advised that Robyn Anderson often assisted Klebold with his calculus. – Matthew Friedman [JCO-01-006402]

[Redacted] then stated that he had been in a Calculus class with Dylan this current semester, but he hadn’t any problems with him. He was very sedated, though Dylan was in trouble a lot for either being tardy or not showing up at all, then when he was there he would sleep in the class and the teacher would yell at him and embarrass him in class.
– [Redacted] [JCO-01-010542]

Jeffrey reported that he had noticed a behavioral change in Dylan the prior several weeks before the incident. He stated that Dylan was normally a very good student but had been falling asleep in the 2nd period class each day. The teacher kept threatening to throw him out of class if he fell asleep again but never did. And there were times in that several weeks that Dylan appeared unusually hyper and full of energy.
–  Jeffrey Marquardt [JCO-01-000988]

He said that Dylan was in his Calculus class at the beginning of this semester, however was constantly falling asleep and eventually left the class.
– James Davis [JCO-01-05598]

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Dylan’s final words regarding Calculus just the day prior to the attack..

He notes the time while writing this passage:
26.4 hours = roughly 9:15 – 9:25 am on April 19, 1999 which would’ve been approximately when Dylan had (literally) ended his 2nd period calculus class per his day planner schedule [JC-001-026244].

“It’s interesting, when I’m in my human form, knowing I’m going to die.  Everything has a touch of triviality to it, like how none of this calculus shit matters, the way it shouldn’t, the truth.  In 26.4 hours I’ll be dead & in happiness. “

2005 article with Joe Higgins