Friday, May 19, 2006

Grades are in!

I have submitted your grades to Prof. Wolfe, who will review and (hopefully) accept them. As I understand it, they will then be posted online at midnight tonight -- if you can't wait that long, feel free to email me.

I have always hated grading. Grades tell you almost nothing about your performance and about what you can do to get even better at school. They are somewhat dehumanizing, even: we take away all discussion of your strengths and weaknesses, of how you are different from your peers, and we give you a number that corresponds, superficially, to your -- what? -- value? "I'm a 3.5, so I can be expected to contribute 3.5 times as much to society as a 1.0 would contribute."

Some grades were low. Disappointingly low. If, looking at your grade, you're not entirely sure how you got it, please email me. The #1 factor that led to lower-than-expected grades? Participation. There were also a few disappointing final exams and some fairly weak second essays, but mostly it was that damned participation grade.

Your grade has nothing to do with how I think of you -- I forget your grades the moment I submit them -- so please don't fall into the trap of thinking that these grades somehow measure you as a person; they are measures only of the work you have done.

I hope to hear from you all in the future, and I hope that your summers are kicking off in a rollicking-but-thoughtful sort of way.