Grading
Despite the heavy financial and opportunity costs which attend post-secondary education, no one, independently of one's scholarly performance, has purchased or contracted for a right to a good or passing grade (but merely (!) the relatively rare, formal opportunity to pursue the life of the mind). Rather, given that grades are a somewhat unfortunate institutional requirement, fairness demands that good grades must be earned. In an effort to resist the triadic wave of grade inflation, social promotion, and consumerism currently plaguing our educational institutions, I strictly adhere to a traditional understanding of the grades A-F (outstanding-good-acceptable-deficient-abysmal).Furthermore, I fallibly grade (or, more fashionably, assess) students on their individual performance, not on some species of errantly collectivist “curve.” Our responsibility as teachers is to grade student work, not the students themselves. That is, I do not -- and do not think it fair or right for anyone to -- grade student effort, potential, intelligence, character, goals, needs, or any other feature of students' lives aside from their scholarly products and adherence to course standards/expectations. Nevertheless, I will gladly discuss (and reconsider if warranted) my assessment of each student's work at any point in the semester. In short: in the interests of fairness and intellectual honesty, please don't expect to receive a grade higher than the one you earn.
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