Comments on: grade inflation: safer than a punch in the neck http://zemblangrammar.com/2008/02/29/grade-inflation-safer-than-a-punch-in-the-neck/ Alfina the Vague: hermeneutic detective. Wed, 07 Jan 2009 21:13:42 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7 hourly 1 By: Oedipa http://zemblangrammar.com/2008/02/29/grade-inflation-safer-than-a-punch-in-the-neck/comment-page-1/#comment-1890 Oedipa Tue, 04 Mar 2008 07:37:29 +0000 http://zemblangrammar.com/?p=256#comment-1890 Cool. I'm super glad you don't regret it. My gut feeling is, from reading your blog so long, we need Modernist gurus like you to keep education interesting and rigorous. I hope things get better student wise someday, but I think our work is really cut out for us! Cool. I’m super glad you don’t regret it. My gut feeling is, from reading your blog so long, we need Modernist gurus like you to keep education interesting and rigorous. I hope things get better student wise someday, but I think our work is really cut out for us!

]]> By: St_Albert http://zemblangrammar.com/2008/02/29/grade-inflation-safer-than-a-punch-in-the-neck/comment-page-1/#comment-1891 St_Albert Tue, 04 Mar 2008 02:28:20 +0000 http://zemblangrammar.com/?p=256#comment-1891 Hmm, reminds me of a story. Some time after I graduated from my Alma Mater, they changed their grading policy to A / B / C /No Credit. That is, you could drop the class, without penalty, right up to the end. Therefore, students who were not making an A simply slept through the Final, thus effectively dropping the course. This change was institued by my oh-so-very-PC Alma Mater in order to reduce the inhumane pressure on Students, and to bring an end to grade grubbing. No doubt it succeded on both counts... right up until graduation. At that time, the laid back students discovered that their 3.5 and up GPA was worthless. It seems that other institutions of higher learning, for example, or the business world, could also do the math. Who'd a thought? So now, their future success in life depended not on four years of academic sucees, but EXCLUSIVELY on their performance on one three-hour Graduate Record Exam, or its equivalent. This is called the Law of Unintended Consequences. So go ahead and inflate those grades! You'll get your revenge in the end -- and a nice salary rise as well ;) Hmm, reminds me of a story. Some time after I graduated from my Alma Mater, they changed their grading policy to A / B / C /No Credit. That is, you could drop the class, without penalty, right up to the end. Therefore, students who were not making an A simply slept through the Final, thus effectively dropping the course. This change was institued by my oh-so-very-PC Alma Mater in order to reduce the inhumane pressure on Students, and to bring an end to grade grubbing. No doubt it succeded on both counts… right up until graduation. At that time, the laid back students discovered that their 3.5 and up GPA was worthless. It seems that other institutions of higher learning, for example, or the business world, could also do the math. Who’d a thought? So now, their future success in life depended not on four years of academic sucees, but EXCLUSIVELY on their performance on one three-hour Graduate Record Exam, or its equivalent.

This is called the Law of Unintended Consequences.

So go ahead and inflate those grades! You’ll get your revenge in the end — and a nice salary rise as well ;)

]]> By: Alfina the Vague http://zemblangrammar.com/2008/02/29/grade-inflation-safer-than-a-punch-in-the-neck/comment-page-1/#comment-1892 Alfina the Vague Mon, 03 Mar 2008 20:01:49 +0000 http://zemblangrammar.com/?p=256#comment-1892 HA - Admittedly that might be a slight exaggeration ... but only a slight one. B - Yes, I think they do know to take things with a grain of salt. Especially, I think, in required courses where the kids are less likely to want to be there. O - In answer to your questions, yes, I am definitely glad I finished the PhD. It remains one of the best things I have done. I also really enjoy getting to talk about books all the time, which has always been my Grand Life Plan. I don't think I will be able to really put any effort toward affecting the system, over all, until I am in a tenured (or at least tenure-track) position. But that is definitely something I think needs to be done -- especially for people (like me) in the lover "rungs." In that sense I am glad I didn't get some superstar job right away, otherwise I wouldn't know what it's like for people in this position, who teach the bulk of the courses while their colleagues (who teach half as many classes) reap all the money and glory. Not that I am after glory, but I won't lie: I am definitely interested in the salary boost that comes with a higher station. HA - Admittedly that might be a slight exaggeration … but only a slight one.

B - Yes, I think they do know to take things with a grain of salt. Especially, I think, in required courses where the kids are less likely to want to be there.

O - In answer to your questions, yes, I am definitely glad I finished the PhD. It remains one of the best things I have done. I also really enjoy getting to talk about books all the time, which has always been my Grand Life Plan. I don’t think I will be able to really put any effort toward affecting the system, over all, until I am in a tenured (or at least tenure-track) position. But that is definitely something I think needs to be done — especially for people (like me) in the lover “rungs.” In that sense I am glad I didn’t get some superstar job right away, otherwise I wouldn’t know what it’s like for people in this position, who teach the bulk of the courses while their colleagues (who teach half as many classes) reap all the money and glory. Not that I am after glory, but I won’t lie: I am definitely interested in the salary boost that comes with a higher station.

]]> By: Oedipa http://zemblangrammar.com/2008/02/29/grade-inflation-safer-than-a-punch-in-the-neck/comment-page-1/#comment-1893 Oedipa Sun, 02 Mar 2008 01:46:56 +0000 http://zemblangrammar.com/?p=256#comment-1893 Yeah, I'm all too familiar with this one. Every time I've given them the honest to god grades they deserve, my evals suffer. Lately, I've been giving them B's if they do all the work, etc. And A-'s if they do it well. I do find that meeting with them in student conferences face to face twice a semester helps to establish a better rapport between us. Also, for their final exam I have them do a five page reflection on themselves as a writer which also includes telling me and persuading me as to the grade they think they deserve. Often, this forces them to have to be a little more honest about their expectations. Especially since I tell them I can smell BS about a mile away when we conference. They get it. They also sense I'm less interested in checking items off a list from the syllabus than I am about how they evolve as critical thinkers and writers. To me, that's not just about doing all the homework. But sounds like your classes are a lot bigger and structured differently (around literature rather than straight up writing). I'm curious, now that you are teaching as a Prof. and having finished the whole process. Are you glad you got the Ph. D. and do you regret in a way, having chosen academia as your career path? Are you hoping to improve the current stupidity of the system, or are you hobbled by being new? I love being in grad school myself, but I'm pretty sure I will go back to high tech work once I'm done. No, not as much flexible time, but it is better pay and I can do it anywhere. Mostly though, I hate shit like what you are describing in this post, the backwards sense of politics in the collegiate system and the current sense of flat out entitlement this recent generation seems to bring to the campus. Ugh. However, I feel like I'm a good teacher and I'm going to miss that. Yesterday while on campus, I was walking through the Student Union and one of my students from last semester spotted me and ran over and hugged me before I could register she was a former student. Then she proceeded to tell me that she and her dorm mates had just all been talking about me and the class that week and how much they missed it. That was a money moment for me. And no, I hadn't given them all A's. Yeah, I’m all too familiar with this one. Every time I’ve given them the honest to god grades they deserve, my evals suffer. Lately, I’ve been giving them B’s if they do all the work, etc. And A-’s if they do it well.

I do find that meeting with them in student conferences face to face twice a semester helps to establish a better rapport between us. Also, for their final exam I have them do a five page reflection on themselves as a writer which also includes telling me and persuading me as to the grade they think they deserve. Often, this forces them to have to be a little more honest about their expectations. Especially since I tell them I can smell BS about a mile away when we conference. They get it. They also sense I’m less interested in checking items off a list from the syllabus than I am about how they evolve as critical thinkers and writers. To me, that’s not just about doing all the homework.

But sounds like your classes are a lot bigger and structured differently (around literature rather than straight up writing).

I’m curious, now that you are teaching as a Prof. and having finished the whole process. Are you glad you got the Ph. D. and do you regret in a way, having chosen academia as your career path? Are you hoping to improve the current stupidity of the system, or are you hobbled by being new?

I love being in grad school myself, but I’m pretty sure I will go back to high tech work once I’m done. No, not as much flexible time, but it is better pay and I can do it anywhere. Mostly though, I hate shit like what you are describing in this post, the backwards sense of politics in the collegiate system and the current sense of flat out entitlement this recent generation seems to bring to the campus.

Ugh.

However, I feel like I’m a good teacher and I’m going to miss that. Yesterday while on campus, I was walking through the Student Union and one of my students from last semester spotted me and ran over and hugged me before I could register she was a former student. Then she proceeded to tell me that she and her dorm mates had just all been talking about me and the class that week and how much they missed it.

That was a money moment for me. And no, I hadn’t given them all A’s.

]]> By: Barbara http://zemblangrammar.com/2008/02/29/grade-inflation-safer-than-a-punch-in-the-neck/comment-page-1/#comment-1889 Barbara Fri, 29 Feb 2008 21:45:51 +0000 http://zemblangrammar.com/?p=256#comment-1889 Wow, that's different. You would think that the evaluators must be just a LITTLE cynical about student opinions. But maybe they've forgotten. Wow, that’s different. You would think that the evaluators must be just a LITTLE cynical about student opinions. But maybe they’ve forgotten.

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