See? That’s what I hate about scores... ";Above average?"; What’s that, grading

See? That’s what I hate about scores... ";Above average?"; What’s that, grading on a perverse curve?

I remember back in my days as an academic. I was so uncomfortable with grading, as a teacher... One time, I gave one of my students a ";C"; on a paper. He came to me, all anguished, saying that this was, in the eyes of his perrs and parents, a ";bad mark."; What I said to him displeased him even more, I guess, though he never complained about it to my department, or any other power that I can think of. What did I say? ";Okay, I gave you what I think is a fair grade on this level of work. Would you, by any chance, like to test the alternative system I have to giving out letter marks?"; ";Well, if it takes away this C, sure..."; Okay, then,"; I replied, ";I call it giving you my real impressions of your paper, no holds barred and why I graded it the way I did. In short: You do a lazy moron’s work, you get a lazy moron’s grade.";

Ah, how I wanted to get out of that world. And now I only find myself having to deal with grades given to wine.

M.