OK, I have finally submitted final grades, which were due today at 10am. This marks the end of what was probably the toughest semester thus far for me, just in terms of getting behind on grading. Dealing with getting my tenure dossier submitted, then a week-long conference trip, plus food poisoning twice and roughly seven colds – sheesh! But it is at long last over, and now I can try to finish up some writing projects and a few other loose ends before taking a trip to India later in the break. A colleague of mine talked about me having a ‘great semester’ – it sure didn’t feel great at the time, but looking back I suppose when all is said and done, the most important things went really well.
I have decided that from now on I am going to state on my syllabi that there is a maximum grade one can get on an assignment that contains errors of spelling, punctuation, or grammar, or are incoherently worded.
Why do so many students use “prophesize“? There is no such word! Why do so many students here say “based off of” instead of “based on”? Why are students coming to university without having simple issues like spelling and clarity already sorted out? My guess is that students these days don’t read as much actual well-written literature, which is presumably where one acquires these skills through exposure. I would suggest that young people who are considering higher education in the future at the very least invest in word-of-the-day toilet paper…
My least favorite experience of the semester is probably being contacted yesterday (the day before grades were due) saying they really need an ‘A’ in order to keep their scholarship, and are praying they’ll get one. I’m not sure whether this is most offensive from an academic, emotional, or theological perspective. Academically, the student in question never once spoke up in class, as far as I can recall, either to ask a question or to participate in a discussion. They never came to see me during office hours to ask about what they can do to improve their work or make as sure as possible that they will get an A. Emotionally, surely they are not unaware that writing to say you really need an A and so much depends on it and you are praying for it is an attempt at emotional blackmail. Theologically, if they really are praying, they are trying to change the past, and there are just so many problems with that…
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