Errmmm
well ill be frank mustafa. This kind of things happen like every so often. Im in high school now and i have messed up teachers now and then. But you should look at the big picture more often. I mean what matters right now is your grades. Suck up to him or her till you graduate or something like that. If you feel like it, tell them how you feel after your marks have been fixed and stuff like that. Letting your feelings out on forums is not a bad idea either
Hmmmm, my rant had nothing to do with the essay in this thread. I actually received full points, 40/40 (weighted 4% of final grade-- I wasn't kidding when I said bread crumbs).
Rather, I've found that I'm the best test of whether a professor will compromise the integrity of their grading practice -- grade 2 students differently, for reasons that have naught to do with the assignment/test at hand.
Of course, I'm pretty thorough (pedantic at times), so I managed to secure my fellow classmates' returned assignments, and isolate some crying discrepancies.
Thereafter I took it up with school officials, and I was offered the option of dropping the course with refund (it is well past the deadline to drop).
If a "pattern" emerges, they said, "come back."
Now, this was in a Math class where it's pretty self-evident if you're grading students variably.
It's a much harder case to prove in classes where there is no right answer, and the instructor is free to grade as they so please.
I've been ripped in both aspects.
When I start classes from here on out, my first step will be to check if the tests are multiple choice.
That will set in clear terms for me, how much freedom I can expect in the class.
I just think it's unprofessional, unethical, and shameful, what I've documented regarding the inability of some instructors to disjoin their personal self from their work self.
I mean, you're undercutting my class grade, and in turn my gpa, and in turn the graduate schools I'll be accepted to, and ultimately you're stealing money from me, when I have to settle for a job that doesn't reflect my capabilities, because students weren't as highly recruited at the school where I went to.
It's not a stretch to call it criminal, or at least grounds for termination.
Mustafa,
Yes, unfair grading is shameful, hurtful, and never acceptable. I want to ask something delicately, though. You write as though this has happened to you more than once, with different teachers. Is that so? If so, have you given any thought to adjusting your classroom persona? Of course, you ought to be able to just be yourself. But, as you say, your GPA and graduate school are on the line so, if there is something you are doing that tends to make teachers dislike you, it might be wise to make a change. For example, I see that you are extremely intelligent. Sometimes very bright students show off their intelligence in ways that threaten the egos of less intelligent teachers. Even though they ought to be free to be however they like, in such cases it is smarter to adopt a more low-key classroom persona. Just a thought.
Put another way, it is entirely possible that you have encountered an unfair teacher who deducts grades out of personal bias. Such teachers do indeed exist, and if this is the case, you have my full sympathy. It is also possible that you have encountered two or three such teachers -- some people are just genuinely unlucky. If, however, you find that the majority of your teachers deduct marks from your work for the same reasons, you might want to start asking yourself if the world is really a harsh, unfair place in which everyone is set against you, or whether perhaps the problem lies with someone other than them.
For instance, many students who receive a poor grade ask themselves where they went wrong, and how they could improve next time, instead of, say, repeating what they did while taking detailed notes to prove that they are the victims of a sinister plot to punish them for their personal beliefs. It is difficult to say how the matter stands in this case, as you have not posted either the essay in question or your teachers comments. On the one hand, as Simone points out, you are extremely intelligent. Reading some of your earlier posts in which you deconstructed my arguments on various topics was highly entertaining, and in some cases your logic as tightly argued as anything I would write. On the other hand, you also tend to be . . . how can I phrase this . . . a tad defensive and, well, very, very self-assured. This can lead to a certain narrow-mindedness that is unlikely to be appreciated by teachers, whether they agree with you or not.
Yeah, I'm going to keep a low profile in classes where there aren't multiple choice tests, from now on.
Efficiency is the end all, or suffer the punishment for your heretics.
Hopefully I'll run into some mentors at GMU, or whatever graduate school I go to, or where I choose to do my PhD, if I reach that point (God willing).
