Flu Shot?
I am not sure what is going on, but I am not in the best of spirits at the moment. I feel cranky, upset, moody, hurt emotionally, tired and annoyed. The last few days have not been great.... I have had to work through ~200 student's grades.... and have had about 35 - 40 e-mails to reply to from students who were not pleased with the grade they had earned. My wife is fairly obsessed with focus about phones at the moment and she keeps pushing at me in ways I do not want to be pushed, so we had a bit of an argument about that. I also received my flu vaccine a few days ago, so I may be having a bit of a reaction to that as my immune responses build up and the t-cells and b-cells proliferate. The band I play in had its final concert of the season and usually afterwards we go out and have a drink or two. But, I just went home after the concert as I was too grumpy and aggravated about phones to go. I was so aggravated and uptight last night that after I got home, I skipped dinner and went to bed, as my stomach was in knots from being hurt and frustrated.
Well, that is my current state of affairs. About the only "good" thing is that on Monday I *did* run my damn 10K (6.2 miles) and today I did the usual 5 miles. Today, especially was a difficult one for me in terms of running. I *did not* want to run this morning. My body was emotionally spent. I was hungry. I was angry. But, I did force myself to do the whole damn thing.
PipeTobacco
7 Comments:
about 35 - 40 e-mails to reply to from students who were not pleased with the grade they had earned
After many years of teaching, surely you have your standard responses well rehearsed, yes? "As you saw in the syllabus, your grade is not random or arbitrary, but rather reflects the work you have completed in our course. The exam you didn't study for in Week 3 cannot be offset by a pained look in Week 15. You knew that the paper you chose not to submit in Week 10 would account for 20 percent of your grade, so you should not be surprised to have earned only 75 percent of the available points in the course and thus received a 'C' for your efforts. Yes, I know that an 'A' would have greatly improved your chances of acceptance at a top graduate school, but you know that, too, so why are you complaining about your own choices?"
If the largest part of each student's grade consists of a single high-stakes final exam, I suppose it is possible that some didn't previously realize how far behind they were in understanding the material. Otherwise -- and especially if you encouraged students to come to you earlier in the semester with their questions -- they should have seen their grade coming and have no reason to fuss at you now.
Pat:
You are correct.... I do have a variety of standard responses for these e-mails. I also have had two students come to my office in tears already this morning. The challenge is that one of my largest classes happens to be a major determinant for admission into a particularly competitive program at our U. I get these same e-mails every semester, even after giving a rubric so students can predict their own grades, after highlighting in the syllabus several times that they need to seek a percentage of points at or above the grade level they are seeking.... and all the other usual details.
It is just frustrating and discouraging to have it happen every semester. I am sure I will have additional students in my office in tears as I usually do. I am just not up for trying to be firm, yet kind in my words at the moment. Even though I know that is what I must do.
PipeTobacco
one of my largest classes happens to be a major determinant for admission into a particularly competitive program at our U
Fine. I assume that students are allowed to repeat a class to seek a higher grade if they so desire. A sufficiently motivated student may require two tries to catch on, but after doing so they should proceed all the more smoothly through that competitive program, or so I would assume.
As for the criers and whiners, perhaps they should answer a couple of questions: (1) If you needed to see a doctor, and could choose between one who earned her grades through hard work, and another who didn't really do the work but cajoled his way into better grades, which would you choose? (2) Would you be happy to discover that you could only choose among doctors whose grades were raised as acts of supposed "kindness"?
I know that it's easier for me to say this than for you to do it, but I can't help but think that the kindest gesture you could perform for some of your students is to let them know that they need to improve their work ethic, or even to consider changing majors if their aptitudes do not match their aspirations. You may have in your science classrooms some potentially excellent law students, K-12 teachers, computer programmers, entrepreneurs, and such -- people who need to focus on their strengths rather than lament a low grade in your class.
Pat:
You are correct in what you state. And much of what you say IS what I do. When I was kvetching, it was mostly about a) not looking forward to these couple of days, b) knowing that while I need to be firm and will be firm regarding the fairness of my grades, that I must also be kind in my approach, and c) how on some days (today is one such day) it takes a considerable level of energy to maintain a calming, “paternal” mindset.... especially when those that come in or write are very emotional, or are angry, or both.
Today, because of other external issues, what I FEEL like doing is being grumpy/grouchy/gruff/short tempered..... but.... regardless of what I do feel, it is NOT an appropriate way for me to behave. I am supposed to do better and be better than that. It is just sometimes hard.
PipeTobacco
it takes a considerable level of energy to maintain a calming, “paternal” mindset....
I'm impressed. In our day, schools have long since abandoned in loco parentis, and students often see their professors not as mentors or role models but rather as vendors whose job is to dispense good grades in exchange for their tuition dollars, much a a Starbucks barista is supposed to dispense good coffee. As a tenured professor who won't be harmed by students' unkind evaluations, you could justifiably choose to adopt a "tough love" stance and remind any uncontrollably weepy students that the university offers psychological counseling as well as career guidance.
Or, I suppose you could become a "softie" and give a sufficiently weepy student an Incomplete, asking that some make-up assignment(s) be completed next semester to warrant some degree of improved grade (especially if a low grade is the result of missed work for which the student has offered an improbable but un-disprovable excuse).
Good luck with it all; I hope you can find some enjoyment to lift your mood in the days ahead!
It will pass. We 97.3 % of time deserve grade we get.
My husband taught a number of university courses as a special instructor, several years ago, and for several years in a row, as he was between permanent jobs at the time. He had always felt he wanted to teach, and this was a chance for him to experience it.
He didn't bargain for today's entitled students, nor did he bargain for the university's intolerance for instructors giving grades that were out of sync with other instructors (by which I mean lower grades to reflect lower accomplishment, rather than grading on a curve). It was a rude awakening, and he was just as happy when that work ended.
Maybe these are not the issues you have to face. Regardless, it is hard to drag ourselve to work when we know what awaits us and it is unpleasant.
As the saying goes, just keep swimming - just keep swimming. Life is a series of ups and downs. The ups are hopefully just around the corner.
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