The semester nears its end

beyelzu · #1 04-19-2010, 07:38 PM

I am almost done and I am tired.

I got to school yesterday at 8 pm and here I sit waiting to go to work. I slept in my truck last night, cuz I didn't get done with my lab report til after 1 am. I got up this morning and took a spanish test, I think I made a low b on it, and then my lab practical in the afternoon. I don't know if I fucked it up or not. If I did I have a c in lab, if not I can score a b.

:shrug:

beyelzu · #2 04-19-2010, 08:00 PM

Upon internal review, I think I failed the lab practical. Oh well, I will make either a b or c, worse case, I will retake it next semester. No worries. something like 60 or 70 percent dont pass the class the first time.

beyelzu · #3 04-19-2010, 08:53 PM

Anyway, at least I still have an A in stats and spanish.

:tmgrin:

livius drusus · #4 04-19-2010, 09:19 PM

Just wait and see, bey. Obviously if you're operating on trucknaps your judgment may not be at its most sound.

beyelzu · #5 04-19-2010, 09:35 PM

Yeah, I am a little loopy. I am happy to be close to the end of the semester though, just so I can get some rest. only 7 more days of classes and then on to finals. I should only have to take 2 finals, so I am feeling pretty good about everything.

viscousmemories · #6 04-20-2010, 02:13 AM

So ES makes you sleep in the truck if you don't finish your homework?

Ensign Steve · #7 04-20-2010, 02:16 AM

He can't come in the house after bedtime cuz he might wake up the dog.

Sauron · #8 04-26-2010, 06:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ensign Steve

He can't come in the house after bedtime cuz he might wake up the dog.

Someone clearly has their priorities straight.

The Lone Ranger · #9 05-19-2010, 08:13 PM

It's that time of semester. And now come the "I don't understand why I got the grade that I did" e-mails ...

I'm entirely sympathetic, because I genuinely want every student to perform well, and to therefore earn a high grade. But sometimes the urge to respond to such e-mails in a less than entirely polite way is strong.

Take the Human Anatomy and Physiology class. To get into the professional program (Nursing, Radiology, etc.), a student must past both semesters of this 2-semester course with a 3.0 average.

So, I just received an e-mail from a student who's upset because I "gave her" only a 2.5 in the class. (Ever notice how, when they like the score, it's all "I got a 3.5 or whatever" whereas when they don't like the score, it's all "He gave me a 2.0"?)

She claims that she's very disappointed, and doesn't think it's fair. And now, as far as she's concerned, the whole semester has been a waste.

So, I sent back a short, very polite reply walking her through the mathematics of it. (I didn't point out that I had promptly given them back their grades after each test and that I had posted the scores and how they were calculated. So really, there's no excuse for any student not knowing his/her grade and how it was calculated.) Her lecture average was a "74," and her lab average was a "75."

She'd need a minimum of an "80" average overall, to get a 3.0, and no matter how I crunch the numbers, I just can't turn a less-than "75" average into an "80" average. Nor can I just magically "find" 5+ points to add to her final average.

What I almost pointed out in the e-mail, but thought better of, was that it was only because I was extremely generous in interpreting some of her answers and in rounding up scores that she got a 2.5 in the class instead of the score that, arguably, she really earned -- a 2.0.

Anyway, we'll see how she responds. Honestly, I'd be thrilled if every single student excelled in the course and legitimately earned a high grade. On the other hand, I'm not feeling too sympathetic toward someone who complains that she feels she deserves a higher grade when she didn't come close to fulfilling the requirements for that grade -- and only got the grade that she did because I was quite generous.

Cheers,

Michael

maddog · #10 05-20-2010, 01:09 AM

yabbut, people who "really" only earn a 2.0 are probably not bright enough to figure out their problem.

#2449

Dingfod · #11 05-20-2010, 01:15 AM

She's lucky you're that generous. I remember classes where it took an 85 score to get a 3.0, others still that required a 90. A 75 would have been a 2.0 or lower.

beyelzu · #12 05-20-2010, 02:51 AM

Well, I ended up doing okay but not great with a 3.3 or so for the semester. sometimes the grind gets to you, Michael, sometimes its easy to fuck stuff up. Like when a teacher takes up an assignment that she never announced in class that everyone except one group knew from reading the syllabus, and then you are told that its your fault for not reading the syllabus. I mean sure but when the person in charge can't be bothered to read it either, I think an extra day could have been extended. Thats the story of how I ended up with a c in chem lab. I fucked up the lab practical and got a 0 on an assignment that was worth 7.5 percent of the grade. I make my grades, and I know you are a great teacher, no doubt about it, all teachers aren't.

Thus ends my rant.

beyelzu · #13 05-20-2010, 05:56 AM

To be clear, when I said the teacher took up the assignment, I mean when I and my lab partner went to her to ask if we could get a day's extension she didn't know that an assignment was due.

The Lone Ranger · #14 05-20-2010, 05:01 PM

I hope that no one thinks my rant was in any way directed at beyelzu! It just seemed like the most logical thread to post it in, rather than starting a whole new thread for such a relatively trivial post.

Quote:

Originally Posted by beyelzu

To be clear, when I said the teacher took up the assignment, I mean when I and my lab partner went to her to ask if we could get a day's extension she didn't know that an assignment was due.

Geez, what a maroon!

***

In my opinion, teaching is either one of the easiest or one of the hardest jobs there is. It depends mostly on your attitude. If you don't care about your students and you're just going through the motions, it would be a very easy job, I imagine. Assuming you can get away with it, and assuming you can live with yourself. On the other hand, if you care about your students and their education, it's a tremendous amount of work.

Cheers,

Michael

beyelzu · #15 05-20-2010, 05:43 PM

To be clear, I wasn't taking umbrage with you, nor did I think that your post was directed at me, I just thought I would give perspective on the other side, a student who did fuck up but a teacher who just doesnt care and in my opinion fucked up more.

I think lots of teachers use a no exception policy on the syllabus, precisely because they don't give a shit. It is easier to say zero tolerance, it requires less thinking.