Raining Cats and Dogma

"I think I deserve a higher grade."
Of course you do. That's why you thought that this paper was ok to turn in.

"I think I deserve a higher grade."
And when you spend 15 more years studying literature and writing, you'll think otherwise.

"I think I deserve a higher grade."
Oh, no! You're right! The 45 minutes I spent reading it closely and writing a 3/4 page, typed, single-spaced response happened to be the same 45 minutes when I decided to be unprofessional and vindictive, and even though I think you're a really nice guy, you just got the brunt of my mean streak. I'll change it right away.

"I think I deserve a higher grade."
And I'm glad you feel so willing to tell me that I don't know how to do my job, which you are eminently qualified to do.

"I think I deserve a higher grade."
I know! Why don't you grade all 35 of the papers in this class, and then tell me what you think you deserved.

>sigh<

"I think I deserve a higher grade."
I am certainly willing to meet and talk through your paper with you, although I will tell you that I'm not typically willing to discuss grades. As you know, I spend a lot of time with each paper, so the decision on how to measure your grade is not one I have taken lightly. I will be happy, however, to discuss your paper as a way for you to develop your skills for the next paper.

I'll probably take this post down before too long, because I don't really want students to stumble upon it, but I thought you'd understand.

Posted by at 7:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)

OK, so I shouldn't make light of a very real and occasionally crippling illness, but seriously, I'm just a little bit bluer thanI should be, and over at Reassigned Time I was just reminded why.

We did not order Girl Scout Cookies this year.

Before, between Ann's high school connections, and the hordes of young entrepeneurs set up outside of Staples, Blockbuster, Safeway, whereever, I could always count on a good February stash of pick-me-up gold. But having missed the pre-ordering, will I be able to find readily available snacky goodness?

Dear lord, let's hope.

Posted by at 1:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I just want to give a little shout out to chief herder Jason, who helped me get this nifty new banner up.

The image is from Magritte's Memoires d'un Saint (1960), which is hard to find, because Magritte's estate is really vigilant about keeping images from circulating around. I had to settle for the one fairly small image I could find--That's why it's a little blurry behind the font.

The painting depicts an image of the ocean and a lovely sky wrapped in a red curtain that curves around, which suggests to me the theatrical nature of life, and at the same time, the truth of theatre. I find it an apt image for someone who works on life writing in drama.

Posted by at 11:46 AM | Permalink

But instead, I'm futzing around with this Johari Window thing that all the cool blogs are doing.

In the immortal wors of Lisa Simpson, "Rate me! Rate me!"

Posted by at 11:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Last semester, I made the mistake of collecting papers from all three classes on the same day, and subsequently drowning in paper. This semester, I spaced papers out, so I got a bathc last Monday, turned them back today, got a batch today to turn back next Monday, and will get a batch that day, too.

Either way, I'm grading three straight weeks.

Did I mention that I have conference paper of completely new, unwritten material to present next Thursday? Yup. I'm screwed.

Posted by at 9:25 PM | Permalink

I am a total sucker for personality tests (and there's probably something in this one that should tell me why. I was obsessed with my Myers Briggs type for years (ENFJ), and in college found "The Purity Test" (remember that one?) to be very revealing--don't even ask.

Anyway, this 129 question test seems to have really gotten it right, with the possible exception of "brutally honest."

My "traits" include being:
expressive, open, self revealing, loves large parties, loud, social, outgoing, does not like social isolation, assertive, social chameleon, positive, always busy, likes to fit in, likes to stand out, enjoys leadership, brutally honest, trusting, optimistic, desires attention, dominant, aggressive, attachment prone, wants to be understood, realistic.

Those who know me IRL may agree, and I hope they do.

Although now that I think of it, the "I hope they do" is revealing, since because I provide the data, this test is less likely to be a snapshot of my real personality, but rather, perhaps, my aspirational personality--the type of person I wish to be. And therefore these sorts of things are always popular, because they tell us that we are who we want to be. Self-actualization in a 10-minute online form.

Whatever, I'm still a sucker for them.

Posted by at 2:03 PM | Permalink

At our institution, as at many others, a number of courses (particularly in the sciences, but in many o0ther disciplines as well) are taught by non-native speakers. Recently, I was speaking with a usually thoughtful and sensitive undergraduate, who found herself complaining about her Finance instructor's unintelligibility.

Oftentimes, this is a situation that breeds racist responses from students, even those not prone to making racist judgments. And while this student was visibly struggling against this impulse, it was still a struggle for her.

How, she wanted to know, should she respond when she felt that her learning was at stake? She recognized that evaluations weren't necessarily the proper context, and moreover, were too late to help her performance. She has tried going to the instructor's office hours, which has helped some, but recognizes that making a regular weekly trip to those office hours wasn't practical to her schedule, and wasn't feasible as a global strategy for her fellow classmates.

She wasn't deeply concerned about her grade, since she knew that most of her classmates were having the same problem, and that she knew she was being more proactive than most. Since the instructor had announced that she was grading on a curve, therefore, this student felt confident enough in her place on that curve. But she had to take the next level of Finance next semester, and was worried about coming in without the requisite knowledge to learn at the next level.

I didn't know what to suggest, since "foreign accents" are a very tricky element of the politcs of race in the classroom and indeed around the academy. Ultimately, I told her that she needed to put extra emphasis on doing the readings, and to make as many trips to office hours as she could, but that I'd be careful about making statements on the evaulations about accent, since that wasn't going to be particularly helpful to an instructor who she admitted seemed otherwise quite good at her job.

I've heard this complaint many times from students, but I have often focused on addressing the inherent racism in the students' comments. But this student's concerns seemed to be more focused on the learning, and not race, grades, or even inconvenience, and so I'm particularly respectful of her approach to solving the problem.

What say ye, O internets? How would you have responded? What advice would you give to this student?

Posted by at 2:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

There is little music about which I get evangelical, but Hem has a new CD out, No Word from Tom. Go to their website and check it out.

Some readers may be interested in their upcoming show on Monday 2/13 at IOTA in Arlington. I am particularly sad, because the nearest gig is in Pittsburgh, on February 23, when I'll presenting at a conference in Louisville (where they're playing on Valentine's day. Drat!)

Anyway, those who know me know I also can get a little hysterical about REM, and so you can imagine my pleasure to find a cover of "So. Central Rain" on No Word from Tom.

Posted by at 10:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I'd really like to call your attention to this excellent article in Inside Higher Ed, by Frank Gaughan and Peter Khost.

While I don't agree with each and every point they make, I think they are really on the right track, and are thinking in some of the same ways that I am about writing.

Let me also strongly urge you to comment on the article, since there seems to be a dishearteningly consistent trend of conservative commenters who are not always as, well, thoughtful as one might hope.

Really, go now.

Posted by at 11:23 AM | Permalink

We interrupt your regularly scheduled academic blogging for this isolated, but entirely justified armchair quarterback moment.

Go Steelers!

In 1980, a year removed from their then-unrivaled fourth Super Bowl victory, the Steelers were on the decline, and I was 6. My grandfather, despite his ardent following of "The Drive for Five," had taken to calling the Steelers "a buncha bums" for their increasingly lackluster play. These are my first vague memories of football spectatorship.

And now some 27 years after their last Super Bowl victory (and 22 years after my grandfather passed away), the Steelers finally have one for the thumb. I hardly remember my grandfather, but I'm thinking of him a lot tonight.

And also thinking of calling up Fritz in Seattle to gloat.

Back to your regular programming.

Posted by at 10:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

in the same week as Wendy Wasserstein and Coretta Scott King, Betty Friedan passes away.

Posted by at 8:21 AM | Permalink

I'm not usually one to use this space to gripe, but I just finished running writing group workshops in 102, where each student is supposed to come in having read and commented on the other papers in their group.

Why, then, was 20% of the class missing?

Oh dear student, it may in fact be that you don't care about whether or not you've gotten that feedback. And it may be that you don't even need it (which I doubt). It may even be that you are not confident in your own commenting abilities.

But you are short-shrifting classmates who spent the time necessary to comment on your writing, and completely disrespecting them by not giving them what they had prepared for you.

I hope that you noticed (or heard when I announced in class) that not coming prepared for a workshop activity earns a letter grade penalty on your paper. Because I will apply it. Oh yes.

Posted by at 3:22 PM | Permalink

I am sad to find out about the passing of Coretta Scott King earlier this week, and am honestly a bit baffled as to why I hadn't heard much about this already, especially given how much I had heard about Wendy Wasserstein's also-sad passing earlier this week. Maybe my head's just been in a hole lately. Or maybe other reasons play into this as well.

A possible glimpse into why over at Angry Professor's

Posted by at 11:43 AM | Permalink

Why being an Episcopalian sounds more and more attractive.

Posted by at 10:22 AM | Permalink