Not grading on a curve
Being a teacher is basically something that you are called to do, but being a GOOD teacher requires more--it requires sacrifice. Not just any sacrifice mind you, no rams in the thicket here, no. The great gibbering god of pedagogy wants the veritable Isaac of your trust in your fellow human beings, and will settle for nothing less.
Case in point, I am two weeks out from the end of my semester and there is someone in the class with a 22%...and that's rounding up. Now, I ask, why is this student still coming to class? What delusion are they working under that they think that in two weeks they will be able to triple there grade and get a C?
...And yet, this student remains in their seat, not turning work in, continuously botching assignments, missing makeup tests for the makeup tests. What are they hoping for?
A: At the end of this semester, this student will show up in my office crying. It never fails. They will cry and then they may become angry.
Here's what I plan on doing. Before my final office hour, I'm going to chop up a few onions and put them in a bag. Call it a kind of social experiment, but I'm wondering what will happen if I too start crying. Will it become uncomfortable? Will they feel it necessary to leave as I loudly heave sobs and talk about how I've never really felt appreciated as a teacher? Well...I don't know. Stay tuned and we'll find out together, I'm sure.
Case in point, I am two weeks out from the end of my semester and there is someone in the class with a 22%...and that's rounding up. Now, I ask, why is this student still coming to class? What delusion are they working under that they think that in two weeks they will be able to triple there grade and get a C?
...And yet, this student remains in their seat, not turning work in, continuously botching assignments, missing makeup tests for the makeup tests. What are they hoping for?
A: At the end of this semester, this student will show up in my office crying. It never fails. They will cry and then they may become angry.
Here's what I plan on doing. Before my final office hour, I'm going to chop up a few onions and put them in a bag. Call it a kind of social experiment, but I'm wondering what will happen if I too start crying. Will it become uncomfortable? Will they feel it necessary to leave as I loudly heave sobs and talk about how I've never really felt appreciated as a teacher? Well...I don't know. Stay tuned and we'll find out together, I'm sure.
3 Comments:
I think it's that old saw -- the one that goes: "If you at least show up for class regularly, you'll get a C." As I recall, some teachers do that. (And, some do still grade on curves.)
Not only should you start crying too (complete with big slobbery noseblowing), you should hog all the Kleenex too.
If you do this you certainly transgress the boundary of the teacher-student continuum. However, effectively placing yourself in the role of victim as the teacher removes validity from the student being the victim, which may confuse them so much that they can't remember how they were going to justify their lack of effort.
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