Feb 18 2009
A, B for effort? Are students entitled?
An English professor and an English major are quoted in this story. Is there an angle that’s not represented here?
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/18/education/18college.html?emc=eta1
2 Responses to “A, B for effort? Are students entitled?”
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Suggesting we post it outside our office doors, a colleague sent this story to the department listserve. I replied jokingly that the article was “too long; my students won’t read it.” I was surprised when another colleague emailed me directly to offer support and understanding–her message was “we’ll all in this together.” Joke lost.
Seriously, though, this is what might officially fall into the category of “not news.” Is it really news that people are upset when they have worked hard toward a goal only to fall short? Ask the members of the Phoenix Cardinals football team how they felt immediately after losing the Super Bowl.
To me, the real issue here is the power dynamic in teaching and learning. Not surprisingly, the story is organized to emphasize that structure: student views, then professor views, then administrator views. I wouold suggest that angle was missed.
Frankly, the accompanying image tells about all I need to know about the story–the professor posed in the center of the photo, glowing in the sunshine streaming through the trees, while students scurry to their next class. “Move along . . . move along. . . .”
Most of my students comment that they always got A’s in high school. Perhaps there is some truth in the claim that k-12 makes them feel entitled. Besides, K-12 spends so much time on standardized tests that it is probably true that high school students pass English with an A.