- Without an A, his GPA will plummet catastrophically.
- An A is required for his major of applied nuclear cosmetology.
- His third homework assignment was misgraded as 9/10, but he really deserves 10/10.
- He is certain that all the other students received A's.
- He must get an A, or else his parents will ritually sacrifice him.
To my great astonishment, he was correct. His third homework assignment was truly misgraded. He had not, in fact, actually made an error on that assignment.
He had made three errors.
I sent email thanking him for the correction, and entered the new score of 7/10. I only regret that it was insufficient to drop him another letter grade.
Ha! This made my day, thank you!
ReplyDeleteWhen I was an undergrad, I came across a book that was likened to "Catch-22" for medicine: The House of God by Samuel Shem. In this book, the new interns are seeing for the first time what it is to be part of the healthcare delivery system. There were a number of House Rules:
ReplyDelete1. GOMERS DON’T DIE.
2. GOMERS GO TO GROUND.
3. AT A CARDIAC ARREST, THE FIRST PROCEDURE IS TO TAKE YOUR OWN PULSE.
4. THE PATIENT IS THE ONE WITH THE DISEASE.
5. PLACEMENT COMES FIRST.
6. THERE IS NO BODY CAVITY THAT CANNOT BE REACHED WITH A #14G NEEDLE AND A GOOD STRONG ARM.
7. AGE + BUN = LASIX DOSE.
8. THEY CAN ALWAYS HURT YOU MORE.
9. THE ONLY GOOD ADMISSION IS A DEAD ADMISSION.
10. IF YOU DON’T TAKE A TEMPERATURE, YOU CAN’T FIND A FEVER.
11. SHOW ME A BMS (Best Medical Student, a student at the Best Medical School) WHO ONLY TRIPLES MY WORK AND I WILL KISS HIS FEET.
12. IF THE RADIOLOGY RESIDENT AND THE MEDICAL STUDENT BOTH SEE A LESION ON THE CHEST X-RAY, THERE CAN BE NO LESION THERE.
13. THE DELIVERY OF GOOD MEDICAL CARE IS TO DO AS MUCH NOTHING AS POSSIBLE.
I would direct, for the purposes of reply to the blogged question, Laws #4, #8, and maybe #9.
The student is the one with the grades follows "The patient is the one with the disease". It is ironic that my students entreat me with grade concerns when all they need to do is study. I tell them that I've already passed this course and now it's their turn, but they almost always want a "deal" with grades rather than just ponying up the effort.
"Law 8: They can can always hurt you more" is what happens when they show up to my office crying. I get both men and women ACTUALLY crying over chemistry grades, begging me to "do something" like I could just utter a phrase and all of the subject would just make sense. Lazy and immature though they might be, it still bothers me.
Maybe Law nine is going a little too far, but when a student who has missed an exam shows up two weeks later without a real reason for not taking the test and wants the grade of zero ignored and expects me to drop the OTHER lowest grade (I drop the lowest exam of 4), a severe beating of a college chemistry student (e.g. Adam Sandler: the severe beating of a high school chemistry teacher from "They Are All going to Laugh At You") come to mind.
That's just my opinion. I could be wrong!
"I sent email thanking him for the correction...."
ReplyDeleteDid you literally do that? Am I the only person thinking that was rather cruel? Isn't that sort of stooping to their...I mean, our level?
I've done that - but I also had spelled out on my syllabus that asking for a re-mark means the whole assignment is re-marked, which may decrease the overall mark. Referring to the syllabus usually shuts them down.
ReplyDelete