Hi SB,I was just looking over all of my graded assignments and adding up totals. From what I calculated, if I get another A- on the final (which I have been pretty consistent with all semester) and add the bonus I got I will be right on the line between an A or A- for the semester. Of course this all depends on what grade you give my final, but if I come close to an A once everything is finalized but I don't quite make it, I was wondering if there would be anything I could do to get that A.
The difference between a 4.0 and a 3.7 is really crucial for me right now and I would really appreciate any help.
Thank you,
Flaky McFlakson
[+]
Dear Flaky,
The final? You mean the one you haven't written yet? Let me address all your concerns. You might, you won't, you get what you earn, there isn't, and THE TERM IS OVER.
Cheers,
SB
What a winner.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm jealous that your term is over.
Hell, your kids actually calculate stuff? I'm being inundated by my students' requests to calculate their grade for them, followed up, maddeningly, by requests to know what grade they need to get on the final to receive X final grade. I'm finding myself frequently responding with "simple arithmetic is your friend."
ReplyDeleteDr. C, our LMS actually does this FOR our students; they can put in 'hypothetical' grades to see what grade they need to earn.
DeleteI'm not particularly impatient with students: I produce a stapler when they come to class with unstapled essays; I don't mind if they eat or wear baseball hats in class; I don't mind if they come to class late; I don't even mind them sending me e-mails with no punctuation or capital letters.
DeleteBUT three things make my blood boil: 1) requests for "grades to date" or "the grade I need on the final to pass"; 2) e-mail requests for information that is available on the course site that they can't be bothered to look up for themselves; 3) e-mails that end with the demand to "please get back to me ASAP."
To the request for grades to date, I always just say, "I haven't calculated your grade to date, and I don't calculate grades until after the final exam. Since you have 80% of your grades, you shouldn't have a problem calculating it for yourself." Sometimes I even explain how to do the equation.
To the request for information that is on the course site, I explain that the information is on the course site. I do this even if it takes me longer to type the message than just tell them the answer.
As for the students who write "please get back to me ASAP," I just hold a grudge.
I had one today who emailed and said "How did you come up with my final grade?" I answered: "math".
ReplyDeleteI've had 4 emails this week asking what the student can do go get a better grade. Answer in all cases: go back to the beginning of term but this time, pay attention. Because it's done now.
ReplyDeleteI know! Those types of requests are so frustrating. Last semester, I had a student who clearly had not read even one of the books on the syllabus. After each assignment, I would write on his (failed) essays, "Clearly, you have not read the book since you have misrepresented so many of the events in the text." For example, in one of his essays, he described how much Stanley and Blanche (in "A Streetcar Named Desire")loved each other and eventually worked out their differences. After he received each of his (failed) assignments back, he would e-mail me asking what he could do to improve. I would say, "Read the books." Before the final exam, he e-mailed asking what he could do to pass the final exam. I said, "Read the books." On my teaching evaluation, he wrote, "I asked BustertheChihuahua for help and he refused to help me."
DeleteI have a student who wants me to look at her first paper (which she just turned in . . . 11 weeks late) because she's failing the class and wants advice on what to do better next time around. I haven't replied, because I know that reply would be snarky and involve caps-lock.
ReplyDeleteI had a student who used to stalk me obsessively in my office hours to find out his final grade. He would stand there with the syllabus in hand, going over the percentage break-down and trying to get me to tell him where he stood.
ReplyDeleteOn the last day of class, he came into my office hours and demanded to know if he was getting an A. Since I hadn't yet graded his final assignment, I told him that it would depend on how he did. "I'll probably get an A," he said, "and I've done the math. An A on this paper means I'll get an A in the class." I told him that that might be true, but I hadn't yet graded his paper. He became angry and stormed out of my office.
I graded his final paper very carefully. He got an A- in the class.