hallawayjoe

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hallawayjoe
Andyland

2003-03-11 12:49 AM
pop quiz

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I gave my students a pop quiz tonight. Sure enough they were on me, reminding me that I did not ask them to have read the chapter until the 24th. But, since 1/3 of the class had left after our ten minute break, I will count the quiz as attendance and free points for the 2/3rds that stayed. I bet that the next time I have a class... they stay all the way through. I know the students are going to nail me on the evaluations, so I might as well be straight with them. It wouldn't matter if I were giving all A's or All F's. But if they are going to treat this class as an unneccesary convenience, then they will have to endure the unneccessary convenince of a low grade. I am giving the midterm on the 24th, and conferences on the 31st, but we will have class on the 7th, the 14th, the 21st, 28th. All four of those days will have quizzes. The 7th will be the last reading quiz, but I will quiz them on the MLA on the 14th of April, and on April 28th, I have a special quiz in mind. On May 5th presentations.

With the slam, I can compete if the semi is held on a Thursday and the final on a Monday... but I can't compete if it is all on Mondays. In some ways, I feel guilty about cancelling class for personal reasons... Maybe I can forgive 2 absences. I think it might be fair. The problem is I really want to slam. I think Cancelling classes is not so bad since there is only so much course material. I cancelled last week's class to do Lysistrata. So at least it was a noble cause. I would probably have cancelled class anyways for conferences but this way... I just don't allot time during what would have been class time, whereas with my morning students I schedule conferences for when we would meet. Also, the evening classes conferences are optional whereas the morning students' are mandatory. Why? Time constraints.

Which class is better? The evening students are better discussers of the text or issues but the morning students are better at being on time, and staying the whole class period. The evening students are always leaving to pick up their sister at the airport, or skipping entirely.

I don't expect to be teaching in the fall at UNLV so I can put aside the worries of a grade complaint. Students complaining about grades is B.S. If they want an easy A, they should go to a diploma mill. I don't like to grade... but it is a necessary evil. I would rather give everybody A's.

I would have a policy of 2 weeks absences maximum and just a scantron quiz to determine the grade... but this is an essay writing class. It is hard to be objective in grading. I am not the best grammarian or comp theorist myself. What I offer students is an honest assessment of what I think other teachers are going to want... preparing them for cumudgeons and scatterbrains. But I earned my position... so I will not be bullied into giving someone who is a C student into giving them an A. The 7 students who left early, better pray that they are passing when it comes down. At least one told me she had to leave, but the other 6 are in for it in my book. Okay... I sound paternal... Actually... I have a syllabus and my expectations are pretty clear. Some just never read the thing.

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