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Hot Damn!
No, that is not what I am planning to drink later today. It is an exclamation I am making as I am nearing the end of the semester and am working feverishly to get the obnoxious grades in.
Truth be told, I do not give a damn what grade a student earns. Grades mean absolutely nothing to me. I have known students who earn an "A" and are unable to think worth sh*t. I have had students who earn an "F" and are very insightful. And I have seen all manner of students at either extreme and in-between.
What I care about when I speak to a student of mine is how he or she THINKS. If the student can use their logical mind to discuss, predict, and hypothesize about matters related to the particular biological discipline I have taught them, then I have succeeded even if they have earned a "D" in terms of points.
Now, of course, the reality is that in the vast majority of cases, a student of mine would earn at least a "C" grade or better on my tests (which are logic based and driven), so most of my best students have earned "A", "B", or "C" from me, and very few of the "smart" ones have earned a lower grade, but it does happen.
I am thinking I will get some preliminary grades and allow them to "marinate" over the weekend. I am thinking I may "marinate" my mind with some pleasant libations this afternoon as well.
PipeTobacco
4 Comments:
Absorbing information and then successfully regurgitating it is unfortunately the benchmark too many teachers use to determine grades. It is refreshing to read your ideas on this. You go Prof, you go.
Grades in college are no big fucking deal, it's the grades you get as you move through adult life in the classroom of life that count.
I figure I've been doing okay, in a few minutes I'm going to enjoy a few shots of brandy and then shut down for the night.
Your students are lucky you've taught them how to think, the *process* in your field.
Isn't that the kind of prof one remembers decades down the line?
I remember one business strategy case study where the prof was not happy with the class-- he wrote THINK on the blackboard and walked out. And that was over 20 years ago.
The trouble with grades is that financial aid cares very much what our GPA is.
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