Valid arguement?

[MrCodeDude]

Okay, so I'm in a English 1A class. The teacher is pregnant and due to her pregnancy, she is very slow at grading papers and such. And to not make her grading stack get bigger each week, she just doesn't assign essays. I guess it's become the usual now so the idea has completely gone unoticed until now, when I get back my second essay (which was handed in mid-September and just got it graded and returned [with no notes or comments] this previous Friday). So far, we've only had 3 essays that have been turned in, 2 of those were in-class essays and one of those was during the first week of school. Needless to say, everyone thought that the class would be an easy A. Turns out it isn't.

Our teacher splits essays and everything else in two categories. Essays are worth 70% of the grade, everything else 30%. Thing is, we've only had 3 essays turned in so far, making each essay wroth 23.3% of the grade. So if you screw up on one of the essays, you're pretty much screwed. At most, we'll get another essay assigned this "6 week term within the grading semester" but chances are that it won't be graded until AFTER the semester. I have a 92% in the class, mainly because of all the extra credit points I've turned in, but other than that, I'd be getting a B or B+. The last essay that we did was an in-class "pop-essay" about the book we read outside of class as the normal nights homework assignment. I knew I got a C or something on that essay because I didn't have enough time to finish it and therefore, this third essay is going to ruin my grade.

I'm pretty much outraged, I've gotten a 4.0 since 5th grade and I don't want this advanced class that does nothing except help you get into the honors program easier. I'm going and try to persuade the teacher to make the split a 50/50 rather than a 70/30. Because this teacher is a VERY hard essay grader yet with only a few turned in, it makes it hard for me, atleast to get an A. I got a 90% on my first essay and an 86% on my second essay. For some stupid reason, the second essay was worth 2X as much as the first essay making my essay grade an 87%. If I didn't have a 100%+ in the other category, I would have got a B. A "B" is a good grade, but I don't feel it's fair for this teacher to assign and grade only three essays over an 18 week period and have those three essays count as 70% of the grade.

Am I just being a cry-baby and can't handle the "B" or is this a valid argument. By the way, this next six-week grading period is what actually goes into your transcripts, the other two were just progress reports. Where I did get an A and A- in the class.
-- mrcodedude

 

[MrCodeDude]

bump

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

<< when I get back my second essay (which was handed in mid-September and just got it graded and returned [with no notes or comments] this previous Friday) >>

that's unacceptable. are you in college? from what i could tell it's high school right?

 

[Hamburgerpimp]

That's too long, can you sum it up in a sentence?

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

<< That's too long, can you sum it up in a sentence? >>


teacher pregnant and slow at grading
grade is based on 70% essay
has only given 3 essays
just now returning the 2nd essay which was turned in in mid september with no comments (how to improve, etc)
grading hard
people mad.

 

[MrCodeDude]

<<

<< when I get back my second essay (which was handed in mid-September and just got it graded and returned [with no notes or comments] this previous Friday) >>

that's unacceptable. are you in college? from what i could tell it's high school right? >>


Yes, I'm in High School. As for dropping the last essay grade, I see that hard to do. I'm just hoping for a 50/50 split.
-- mrcodedude

 

[MrCodeDude]

And to see if my argument was valid and I wasn't just complaining for a good grade.
-- mrcodedude

 

[Gonad the Barbarian]

Write an essay about how she should be at home birthin' her baby instead of there bringing all of your class down and turn it in for extra credit.

 

[MrCodeDude]

<< Write an essay about how she should be at home birthin' her baby instead of there bringing all of your class down and turn it in for extra credit. >>


Heh heh. Extra credit goes to the 30% part of the grade, I already have 102% in the 30% part.
-- mrcodedude

 

[perry]

Taking so long to get the papers back is unacceptable.

Having only a few things count towards your grade is acceptable. I've had college coures that consist two grades -- midterm and final. Welcome to the real world in that respect.

If I had a professor pulling that crap in a college course, not giving back an essay before the next is due, I'd raise some hell. Especially when you get it back and there is nothing on it. And even moreso when it took two and a half months to grade. Getting some feedback on your work, especially in high school, is important. Gotta be able to see how you are progressing and what you are doing wrong.

I'd complain to her or her department head or your guidance counselor.

 

[notfred]

You sound like this guy I knew who CRIED in HIGH SCHOOL when he got a C on a test.

Jesus man, no one gives a crpa whether you get a 4.0 or a 3.9 except for you.

I think the teacher should grade however she wants. HOWEVER, I beleive that if her pregnancy was interfering with her ability to perform her job, she should have been given maternity leave at the start of the semester, and a replacement teacher should have been hired. Her pregnancy shouldn't be a detriment to the education of her students.

 

[exp]

<< i think you should go and speak to the professor. i mean, is she a nice person?

one C on an essay(especially on a pop essay) should not bring down your grade that much. i mean, you've shown with your past essays that your capable of writing a good essay.

maybe if you speak with her( shows that your concerned about your performance in her class), she may place more weight on an upcoming essay and therefore drop your C.

also, she may take into condieration your good performance and somehow kinda ignore that C you got. i've noticed some profs will do that.

good luck >>



Yeah, you could try that, especially if you get other students to privately complain to her as well (safety in numbers ). Just be sure to approach her sincerely and respectfully--no whining. But there is no real reason why she has to concede--or even hear--your argument so don't be disappointed if it doesn't work. Either way, a B is not the end of the world so don't sweat it.

And honestly you can expect just about every class to be like this in college so in a way she is doing her students a favor by preparing you for the future (my high school Bio prof. was the same way). If you take the experience and learn from it you can turn it into a positive thing. I recall getting a C my first quarter at college and it was one of the best things that ever happened to me--lit a fire under my lazy a$$ that propelled me through the rest of college.

 

[Lucky]

<< You sound like this guy I knew who CRIED in HIGH SCHOOL when he got a C on a test.

Jesus man, no one gives a crpa whether you get a 4.0 or a 3.9 except for you.

I think the teacher should grade however she wants. HOWEVER, I beleive that if her pregnancy was interfering with her ability to perform her job, she should have been given maternity leave at the start of the semester, and a replacement teacher should have been hired. Her pregnancy shouldn't be a detriment to the education of her students. >>




Try telling like to a school like harvard where a 4.0 is nearly required, and on top of that, you need extracurricular crap just to distinguish yourself from everyone else and their mother who applies with a 4.0.

Talk to your principal, dean, or guidance counseler. I think you are getting screwed here.

 

[Lucky]

I recall getting a C my first quarter at college and it was one of the best things that ever happened to me--lit a fire under my lazy a$$ that propelled me through the rest of college


HAHA! Getting my first C was hope that I might actually graduate!