(no subject)

[vicarz]

Damnit, fucking damn. I got my last grade - in employment law. Understand I do this for a fucking living, right? I only got a B+. I knew it was a risk taking this professor again after only getting a B in prof resp. I seem to be hitting a random with him, or he sees through my wall of information to my true ignorance underneath and scores me accordingly. Nice guy, but I am baffled by the grade. My final gpa will only be 3.2851 or 3.29. That will most likely not be with honors as the GPAs go up in the spring and the lowest score with honors last term was 3.30. Not much I can do about it now.

Comments

[grymnir.livejournal.com]

Condolences.
But (because I'm tired of you repeating the obvious-you know, how stupid or ignorant you are...insert annoying emoticon here)
there is another possibility: he graded you more strictly because he could tell that you knew something about this practice and therefore tried to challenge you to a higher standard. One of my grades last semester was a B+ and prof said, specifically, that she expects some of us to perform to a higher standard and are graded accordingly.

[vicar.livejournal.com]

I can only conclude it is discrimination on the basis of race (mixed), religion (mixed), gender (mixed), national origin, perceived disability (mental), and sexual orientation (mixed). I will file suit accordingly (not).

[blindtillnow.livejournal.com]

d00d. if your professor really said that it, he is in some serious shit. you can't garde some people easier and some harder. you are not in competition with your professor, you are in competition with your classmates. and if you already know something about the topic, you should have an edge over them, not be penalized for it.

i'm relatively certain he's violated your school's grading policy. if he's done what you say he's done.

-S

[grymnir.livejournal.com]

If you mean my post, I have no problem with that practice. the whole point of school is to train me; if I am in art class, I expect to be challenged to go deeper, not to run a standard complimentary color wheel. Same thing for writing, which is really what Law and humanities graduate school is all about--if we have experience then a good professor will push us to try new things.

I've seen far too much entitlement, even at my level, in students who are all about "but I'm a grad student so that means I'm good." Um...no...not always.

[blindtillnow.livejournal.com]

i disagree completely with regard to the "whole point of school." school does NOT teach or train you how to be a lawyer. school is an evil pox-ridden whore one must couple with to get a degree. the workplace is where most real learning occurs. (well, at least for me anyhow.)

that said, perhaps i'm the very odd man out in that i learn much better by doing and reading on my own than through class work or dealing with professors. *shrug*

but what you've described above is unfair, unnecessary, and would outrage me if it happened to me or my child. in a classroom setting, particularly a law school classroom setting, where there exists intense competition for grades and ranking any practice that blatantly favors or penalizes some students over others is a wretched practice.

sorry if it feels like i'm taking my frustration with the current, US, law school teaching paradigm out on you. ;)

-S

[vicar.livejournal.com]

You should know that Rikk is both a student and a professor (mostly) - but not a law geek.

[blindtillnow.livejournal.com]

yeah, i kind of figured out that maybe i was being a hars.

sorry rik!

i just really hated law school....

-S

(and didn't you enjoy my evil, pox riden whore analogy?)

[vicar.livejournal.com]

Oh yes - there are no prophylactics thick enough to protect you from the social contagions present in a USian law school.

[grymnir.livejournal.com]

I think it worked. But I will take what you saying and keep it in mind. I, personally, am in an interdisciplinary program for my PhD. I have fellow students who are only MA, other who are precocious (little fucktards) undergraduates, and even PhD students from very different disciplines.

In one instance--the topic we were working was in an American history class, but dealt quite bit with early modern Europe. Point is--my MA was European history; prof had to push me in ways she couldn't push the others b/c they didn't have the background. to not push me would have wasted my time, I think, and would not have taught me anything.

Law school - and even the Ivys when people are fighting for that .0025 difference? I understand your anger and vitriol.

[grymnir.livejournal.com]

BTW - answered other bits below but:
you reference your child. Ok, assume a public school. I went to Fairfax County high schools--my writing ability was solid when I entered college, but there were students (not just athletes) who were barely literate.

Should the professor expect the same things from each students, especially when it is as arbitrary as "writing style, argument, and analysis"? I'd argue "no" - though I do see the danger of grading students on different scales. So, unfair perhaps, but unnecessary? I'm not sure I agree--there is too much entitlement and pure slacking (let me paste this from wikipedia right here..) in undergraduate studies in many programs now. It is disheartening.

[pastor-saturn.livejournal.com]

Should the professor expect the same things from each students, especially when it is as arbitrary as "writing style, argument, and analysis"? I'd argue "no" - though I do see the danger of grading students on different scales. So, unfair perhaps, but unnecessary? I'm not sure I agree--there is too much entitlement and pure slacking

But doesn't some of that entitlement and slacking stem from a practice of grading students on different scales? I mean, if I "don't have the background" to take a grad-level American History course, I shouldn't be taking the course at all until I can understand and keep up, IMO. I thought that was WHY they have grades: to tell whether you're ready to advance.

If the prof says of me, "Well, Susan's an Econ major so she doesn't have to know much about history; I'll just give her a bye," that insults my intelligence and my ability to master (or at least excel at) something outside my field. It really cheapens the grades you get, whether A's or D's, if you're not one of the students deigned worth challenging.

I don't care if it's common, it's not okay. However, I am oversensitive about these things. Don't mind me. :)