This reminds me of a funny story from back when Mr. Maryn was Professor Maryn. He'd posted grades and a student came to see if there was any way his grade might be elevated.
The offer of money was so overt, no subtlety whatsoever, that Mr. Maryn took it for a joke. "Well, I'd never be able to work in a university setting again, so you'd have to match my annual salary, plus bump it up for raises and all that I'd get over the years, and add something to cover the increased insurance costs of group rates to private, for my wife and I both, and any children we might have in the future."
The student stood there, awkwardly, for a long moment, and said, "I can't go any higher than a half a million without talking to my father."
Holy crap, huh?
Maryn, whose husband did not change the grade
I don't really think it is the same ol', same ol'. I think the expansion of college enrollment has changed things, significantly. On balance, I certainly think it's a good thing that more people have access to college, to more education. But that greater egalitarianism creates different dynamics. One of these--I think--is a shift in the student-professor relationship. And again, there are positives in such a change, as well.
But bottom line, I think higher education has become more of an expectation/entitlement, than a pursuit, if you will. The degree is, indeed, more important than the knowledge for a much larger percentage of people that go to college, than it was twenty, forty, sixty years ago.
Meh.
Still and all, bargaining for a grade seems rather disgusting to me. If you didn't earn it (no matter how dumb the class), you shouldn't get it.
O
M
G...
Every single student entering university or college ought to read this essay.
Thanks, Carole. Definitely an A for finding this and posting.
No, of course that's wrong. If a person needed to withdraw with an incomplete that should have been attended to prior to grade posting (probably prior to finals or even midterms). People do need incompletes sometimes for health or other valid reasons.
Most professors will work with a person if they are having a genuine problem that goes beyond the classroom.
Of course, then you have the arseholes, that don't care if you're on crutches with a broken leg, park in the cheap lot a mile out, are working, and have a 2 year old to drop off before class at 7am...who dock you half a grade point every time you come to class at 7:05...thereby taking your hard-earned "A" and turning it into a "D" just because they've taken a dislike to you for some arbitrary reason.
Between the underwater basketweaving classes mandated by the college for "global awareness" and the sometimes fickle faculty... college takes survival skills. I'm definitely one to say the effort is worth it in the end. But, again, it's not without a fair amount of BS on the part of both students and teachers.
So... meh...
If you want to learn in this life, you have to want it and seek it out yourself. Period.
I think it's sickening that a student with good enough haggling skills and a professor with low enough ethics could Easy-Bake-Oven a grade that matches one that I bust my ass for. Commonplace or not, it's really pathetic.
But that's just me.
Maryn, Bravo to Mr. Professor Maryn.
Some people are really slimy bustards, and they get rich... Other nice people never see a penny of what they're actually worth...
It might have been a black and white remark, but really--school is about more than learning the subject matter. It's also, at least in my opinion, about learning how to behave like an adult in the real world. And yes, that often does require some serious dancing skills.
But as for super-strict rules within a particular class, I thought some of the rules in my law courses were ridiculous. A late paper--even one day late--earns a zero? Are you kidding?! But in the real world, a legal document filed with the court even 5 minutes late is often worthless, no matter how noble the cause of the case and no matter what the reason for lateness happens to be.
It might have been a black and white remark, but really--school is about more than learning the subject matter. It's also, at least in my opinion, about learning how to behave like an adult in the real world. And yes, that often does require some serious dancing skills.
But as for super-strict rules within a particular class, I thought some of the rules in my law courses were ridiculous. A late paper--even one day late--earns a zero? Are you kidding?! But in the real world, a legal document filed with the court even 5 minutes late is often worthless, no matter how noble the cause of the case and no matter what the reason for lateness happens to be.
Ah, yes, the world is an arbitrary place much of the time, and the classroom is no different in that respect. However, a zero for being one day late (unless we're talking a final) seems sort of stupid to me. How the hell do you find out if you learned the material that way? I think docking 10% or whatever for every late day is probably a more than reasonable consequence. Hell, even if you're late for work, you sometimes get your pay docked accordingly, depending on where you work.
I don't have a problem with preparing students for the real world. But allowing students to haggle for a grade seems to be taking it too far, imo. LOL And just as there are asshole profs, there are asshole bosses, too. You adapt to the way they do business, or suffer the consequences, sure. I still think it wouldn't hurt for people to be flexible in extraordinary circumstances, and some people won't budge, no matter what.
And now I have no idea what I'm saying anymore, lol.