I'm actually in a decently good mood for being as tired as I am. My Comp II class really far ahead of where I thought they would be at this point. They're about a week ahead, which means that they'll have an extra week on their research paper.
The Comp II class has an average grade on the first draft of the papers of about 95%. They're really good this semester.
The Comp I class, on the other hand...the average grade is an 89%. Most of the class gets 90/100 or higher; however...I have one student who came from Bonehead English. Their average paper grade is around a 60%. The student has been very ill-served, and I know why.
The Bonehead English director tells his instructors to not give students poor grades. We wouldn't, after all, want the poor dears to get discouraged and drop out! We can't possibly make it clear to them that they have a lot of work to do to come up to par for university level writing!
The director of Bonehead English for my university can fuck off. With the failing papers of his past students folded until they're all corners, and shoved up his ass sideways.
(Why don't the rest of you sound off? What messed up your week?)
15 minutes ago
Ah, the soft bigotry of low expectations. Living in a world where you can't legitimately and constructively criticize someone's work in the interest of making them better can FTFO.
ReplyDeleteAs can the students who are currently earning Ds and Fs and yet have delusions of pulling a B out by semester's end. Um, this is the sciences? Stuff only gets harder as the semester wears on?
Exactly! I really hate that, and I refuse to do that because it harms my students!
DeleteI can't relate, this semester--my classes are awesome. But I remember my science classes as being very, very hard for me (got a C in Bio, and pulled a D up to a B in Physics, because I got the highest grade on the test over the chemistry chapter, and he curved everything up by fifty points so that the next lowest was an A...which booted me up. But that was sheer luck--I was resigned to a barely-passing grade).
Well, it's only really 5 or 6 students for me, but they're ALLLLL coming to me RIGHT NOW wanting to know if they can "pull out a B" because next week is the drop deadline.
DeleteUm, guys? The reason I have an online gradebook is so you can, you know, keep up with your grades, online, without having to come and ask me?
I have two poor students in one class, and none in the other (just one that needs to get his thumb out and revise a couple of papers).
DeleteHH, you are definitely my kind of teacher! I used to seek out the teachers that had a reputation for being fair but challenging. I always felt like they were the ones I could learn the most from. Most of the time I was right. An added benefit was that most of the best teachers I had, had a knack for making the subject fun and interesting. By the way, don't judge my English teachers too harshly. I majored in electrical and electronics technology. I'll never write a sonnet, but I can wire your house or fix your phone! ;-)
ReplyDeleteMark
I don't teach creative writing. I teach the basic, everyone needs to be able to do this with a basic level of competence type: analysis, persuasive, and explanatory. Everybody needs to be able to write well enough to communicate basic ideas, and I believe everyone can write like that to a decent level of competence. And I teach them to do that.
DeleteI can write. I can teach. I can balance a checkbook, create and keep a budget, plan and execute meals...what I can't do is keep my house maintained. I can't repair window frames, fix problems in the wiring and plumbing, or fix holes in the eaves that the squirrels like to create to winter over in my attic. Everyone has their skill sets, and I think your particular skill set is far more practical and useful than those related to my careers (teacher and writer).
I've had a pretty good week. The kids are coming tonight for a weekend visit. Unusually for me, I can't complain.
ReplyDeleteAwesome! I hope you enjoy your weekend.
DeletePeople who don't know a good thing when it falls in their lap can FO, with butter and cheese. Because they were getting FREE perishable food, and were bitching that there was no meat or milk products.
ReplyDeleteI HATE the entitlement mentality.
DeleteIt's one of the hardest things I have to do when I have to convince my children's teachers that it's OK to give them a bad grade if they deserve it. I've had the "success versus esteem" argument one too many times.
ReplyDeleteI can only imagine. Probably frustrating to you that you have to have this discussion with their teachers, too.
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