Re: Eric and Fred's ideas on grading -Reply

[Neal Lerner <nlerner@acs.bu.edu>]

Jon, (happy birthday by the way) your question provokes much thought on 
my part.  The other day I was talking with some folks who are teaching 
for the first time after graduate careers that focused on experimental 
science.  For these people, end-of-term student evaluations carry 
tremendous weight in the assessment of their teaching.  In fact, it is 
the *only* means of assessment.  I suppose that's one source of students' 
authority, one I've seen otherwise decent teachers go to extraordinary 
means (including pulling negative evaluations before submitting the 
batch) to make favorable.  Strange system, huh?		Neal 
nlerner@acs.bu.edu 

On Thu, 4 Jan 1996, Jon Olson wrote:

> Do you ever wonder if the students are the ones who really have
> authority and we're fooling ourselves to think we have it to give? 
> --Jon, olsonj@cla.orst.edu
> 
> >>> Neal Lerner <nlerner@acs.bu.edu>  1/3/96, 11:51am >>>
> Lately, it's seemed that efforts Eric describes below, our attempts
> to  "distribute authority" by putting the onus for evaluation on our 
> students, are so anomolous not only to most of the rest of the
> students'  educational experience, but to their working and political
> lives outside  of and after college.  I'm thinking of the recent
> announcement by AT&T  that 30,000 folks will be fired.  Will these
> 30,000 have much power of  this decision?  Can they argue that
> they've achieved the performance  criteria they and/or their managers
> established and thus should be  retained?  Somehow I doubt it. 
> Similarly, the current federal budget  standoff and the machinations
> in Washington further instill a relative  powerlessness on our parts
> (and hence our nation's abysmal voting  turnout).  
> 
> In many of our students' classes, the criteria for success are quite 
> clear:  you memorize the appropriate body of knowledge and you get
> the  corresponding grade.  Writing classes that involve students
> deciding upon  criteria for success and then judging how well the've
> met those criteria  might seem like worthwhile experiences at the
> time but seemingly out of  touch with so many dominant experiences in
> their lives.
> 
> Sorry to be so cynical on this snowy day in Boston, but I guess
> that's  what happens when I listen to news radio too much.
> 
> 	Neal Lerner
> 	nlerner@acs.bu.edu
> 
> On Tue, 2 Jan 1996, Eric Crump wrote:
> 
> > I did something similar, Paula.  >  > Basically, I attempted to
> distribute authority, something that gets  > talked about a lot but
> is very difficult to accomplish. Can't claim my  > class was
> completely successful. When I asserted that I would not *give*  >
> grades to anyone, that everyone would determine their own grade based
> on  > their own criteria, some flat out didn't believe it. Some tried
> to  > believe. A few got it.  >  > And those who couldn't manage to
> really grasp the authority laid at their  > feet are blameless. The
> situation was utterly anomalous in their  > educational experience.
> Sort of like someone walking up to you on the  > street, someone
> you've never met, and saying you can have three wishes.  > Any sane
> person will be very skeptical.
> >  > by the way, I also had a number of students ask that their list
> and  > moospace be kept available so they could keep in touch.
> Whatever else  > went right or wrong in that class, this evidence of
> a sense of community  > made the whole thing worthwhile for me.
> >  > --Eric
> >  > // Eric Crump
> > \\ wleric@cclabs.missouri.edu
> >    --------------------------
> > // "Quality is not a *thing.* It is an *event.*
> > \\                            --Robert Pirsig
> >  >  > 
> 
> 
>