Recently I stumbled on a relatively new blog Tenured Radical that I really dig for it provides a compelling and witty, (if not at times very disturbing) picture of what I am soon to face, being I am at the cusp of starting an academic job. Not only is writing a real pleasure to read but she has a lot of good things to say and it is worth checking out (well maybe only if you are a student, academic, or university administrator though I reckon it may have wider appeal). At first, she blogged anonymously but now she has come out under the sun revealing her identity.
Her recent post on the problems of grading hit home, I guess because it seems like in the last week all my friends are talking/complaining about is grading given it is the end of the semester and all (I thankfully don’t have to worry about that till next year). Grades and granting them, have such a complex psychology and set of consequences for teachers and students alike and she gives a nice taste of what they are.
This was covered very nicely in the “Zen or the art of motorcycle maintenance” while it focused more on the interim grades with the final grade staying as either an average of the interim grades or a grade for the final assignment. But the overall idea was that not giving ny indication on persons performance might improve the performance of the B to C students while putting a huge stress on all of them.
Comment by Aigars Mahinovs — April 22, 2007 @ 2:13 pm
Interesting. I need to read that book sometime…
thanks aigars,
b
Comment by Biella — April 22, 2007 @ 4:20 pm