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Re: Eric and Fred's ideas on grading -Reply
I am doing the unspeakable and merging lists since this thread was posted
to both wcenter and mbu (and by the way, Jon, Happy birthday).
Anyway, as we question grading and authority, I am left wondering
what the nature of "authority" is. When I first began teaching, this was
simply answered. "Authority" meant I knew more than my students and I
was in charge so I got to call the shots. Fortunately, years of
experience have questioned my naive assumptions (and knocked me down a
few pegs in the process). When we question teacher or learner authority,
what are we setting as criteria? Does authority rely on who is the
leader? Does it realy on knowedlge? Thinking ability? Who gets/has to
enter the grade with the Registrar? Who has to *live* with the grade for
the rest of her life? Is Authority determinted by who gets the
paycheck? Or by whose tuition supports the paycheck? Does it have to do
with accountability? I am not searching for a dictionary definition
here, a mere trip to the OED. But how does authority come into play in
the power structures within the teaching and learning environment? And
how does that effect what we think or feel about grading and being graded?
Earlier this week Jon Olson raised a fine question on wcenter
asking if we don't just sort of fool ourselves into believe we, as
teachers, have the authority and that it is ours to doal out (hope I
haven't mis-paraphrased you, Jon. Oh, and Happy Birthday, BTW). It is
in reflecting on that post that I add these ponderings.
Katie Fischer
*************************##################################*******************
Katherine M. Fischer Box 1569 319-588-8115
English Department Clarke College 319-588-6445
Writing Center Dubuque IA 52001 kfischer@keller.clarke.edu
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On Thu, 4 Jan 1996, Neal Lerner wrote:
> 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
> > > > >
> >
> >
> >
>