Hatrack River Forum: Should I protest my grade?

This is topic Should I protest my grade? in forum Books, Films, Food and Culture at Hatrack River Forum.

To visit this topic, use this URL:
http://www.hatrack.com/ubb/main/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=2;t=020410

Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :

Here's the deal. My last 5 week course was Race, Culture and Oppression taught by a professor who had no idea how to teach.

We didn't get ANY of our assignments and grades back (except one out of seven) until the class was over.

I was doing fine until the last assignment (I had a B+ and considering I was in the hospital most of November, that had to be pretty good, ne?)

Our last assignment was another assessment of our standpoint at the end of class compared to the beginning, using things we'd learned in class.

Problem

We didn't learn ANYthing. So I took the parameters of the assignment and filled them. Did what I was supposed to. Except I took an unorthodox approach. I analyzed humor from a cultural competency standpoint.

He gave me 11 out of 20 points on it.

I worked my ass off. I had another student read it to make SURE it did fulfill the assignment's requirements. I know that none of the points taken off were for formatting and grammar and general writing ability crap.

So that lowered my grade to a B-. Which, in my program, is failing.

Do I protest?

Posted by ravenclaw (Member # 4377) on :

sure you could protest it if you actually think it would do any good. I would take that B- any day... *sigh*

Posted by jexx (Member # 3450) on :

Yes. Is he the head of the department? If not, I would take it up with the head of the dept. Of course, other people better versed in the politics of university would have better advice.

I would definitely challenge it though. 11 out of 20? That is insane. (mack told me a little about this assignment/class yesterday) Even if your approach was unorthodox, it should have met the requirements (according to what we discussed yesterday).

Besides, who is this guy trying to fool with 'requirements'? How can he give you requirements when he can't even be consistent using the required reading?

Pfah. What a bonehead.

Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :

I just read the MSW handbook for my program, so a B- is JUST above failing.

But are you kidding?

Even if I wasn't trying, I don't tend to scrape by.

I think I'll email my advisor and ask what to do. I'm really frustrated...I should've just half assed it.

Posted by Tresopax (Member # 1063) on :

Did you talk to the professor in question?

You should never go over his head without bringing the problem to him first.

Posted by slacker (Member # 2559) on :

*ludosti here*

I think you should first try talking to your professor, asking him to explain why he gave you the horrible grade he did, since you were under the impression that you completely fulfilled his stated requirements. Then, if he blows you off or his explanation is woefully inadequate, you can go to the department head with your complaint.

Posted by Bob_Scopatz (Member # 1227) on :

I would definitely try talking to the prof.

I think it's important that you also try to explain that not getting back 6 of 7 assignments robbed him and you of important pedagogical opportunities. Ones that, you believe, would've helped you to learn more about how he deals with variations from the assignment, for example.

Then you could take your final project as an example. Showing point by point how it met the assignment's guidelines and yet somehow didn't give him what he truly meant when he wrote those guidelines. If you and he had had an opportunity for prior feedback on earlier assignments, you feel like you might've had some notion of whether to trust his requirements alone or perhaps need to get clarification first.

But in the absence of that instructive feedback, you feel as if he should grade based on the requirements as he wrote them.

Be respectful and blunt.

And don't offer sexual favors in exchange for a better grade. That never works! I should know!

Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :

Bob, if I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times--I'd already turned in my grades; there was no way I could change your score to an A at that point. I did make you pancakes the next morning though! That ought to count for something.

Mack, Bob's is the best advice so far. Do talk to the professor, going over the points Bob suggested, and make it clear that if he's unreceptive you'll have no qualms about talking to the department head, the dean, or whoever the logical next person would be.

Posted by Glenn Arnold (Member # 3192) on :

Does the teacher have a rubric for the assigment? It's getting very hard for teachers to grade on a whim anymore.

I must point out that several times when a teacher gave me the rubric and asked me to grade my own work, I saw where I misinterpreted the instructions, or simply left out part of the assignment. But at least I understood why. And in most cases, the miscommunication became clear, and the teacher allowed me to resubmit the work. After all, the point of education is to learn, not to be vindictive.

Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :

What do you have to lose by prosesting? Though I would be very careful. Don't do it often or you could be labeled as a "troublemaker"

Unfortunately I know of a case of a girl who was always protesting her grades, who was hearing impaired. I don't know if she was actually always given reasonable accomodation, but among the faculty I overheard she was labed as a "troublemaker". I don't think it was entirely her fault but I think it may have been partly.

AJ

[ December 24, 2003, 02:30 PM: Message edited by: BannaOj ]

Posted by Bob_Scopatz (Member # 1227) on :

C'mon, who here would dare call Mack a "troublemaker?"

[Evil Laugh]

Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :

Well unfortunately, I suspect that is what his holding her back from protesting right now, and it is a legitimate fear.

I mean I could just
*wedgie* [Evil]

and tell her everything would be all right but that isn't real life either.

AJ

Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :

I still have the call the access office at UNH about the ad/hd.

But that aside.

I just find it ironic that I did perfectly fine for the first month of the course IN SPITE OF being in the hospital nearly that entire month.

Then I'm fine and do this paper.

And do poorly. [Dont Know]

I emailed the prof. He hasn't emailed back yet.

Posted by Theca (Member # 1629) on :

My dad is a temporary department head at a university right now and we just had a conversation the other night about a very similar situation. He said that in grad school, in his experience, passing is passing (I'm oversimplifying a LOT) and his advice to the student in his department was to just let it go. This was after she already talked to the prof about the problem and got nowhere, however. I wonder what your advisor will say. Hey, ask Dr. F for advise too.

*Kicks professor*

Posted by Bob_Scopatz (Member # 1227) on :

Actually, that WAS true of my grad program as well. You passed, you passed. No harm no foul.

There were very few profs, however, who would assign a "minus" to a B grade in my program. That just sounds weird.