The Dean will think it's weird, but I'll say you're a talented bunch, and if I need to, I'll personally argue on your behalf. I really hate awarding poor grades. Still, if for some reason you get into trouble serious enough to want to drop the course, such as getting so far behind you can't catch up, don't just stop coming to class and think that will be the end of it. Dropping a class is a serious matter. Try to avoid such a terrible waste of time and tuition money by keeping on top of things - for example, by always keeping up with your reading assignments.
Writing is a key skill for everyone, especially for scientists.
No scientific investigation is complete until it becomes known to the world, and scientists do this by writing papers and publishing them. There have been too many important scientific discoveries that were ignored for years because the scientists did a poor job of writing up the results, in a way that people could understand. I will therefore assign a 1000-word paper , due on the last day of instruction for this class. Having something to say in your paper is important. For hints on writing, see The Elements of Style, by W. B. Strunk and E. B. White.