Re: grades

Jeffrey R Galin (galin+@PITT.EDU)
Thu, 22 Aug 1996 09:06:36 -0400

Bradley,
I think liking is an important point which gets us back to the
sentiment behind the "real" assignments discussion. The best classes I
have ever taugh have been the ones in which both students and I were
interested in what was being said and written. I looked forward to
seeing what my students would have to say. They were animated in class
and engaged in their writing. In such an environment, students and teachers
can sense the enthusiasm and draw upon it to sustain the class.
No matter how a given class is taught, if this kind of energy can
be generated and sustained, while addressing course or departmental
requirements, then productive work is being done. What is real about a
class like this are the questions being asked, the interest invested, and
the learning that is going on.
Liking is at the center.

Cheers,
jrg
\
\ Jeffrey R. Galin
_/ Department of English
o// University of Pittsburgh
/-/ Pittsburgh, PA 15260
/\/ (412) 624-6506 (W)
|/ (412) 521-1472 (H)
// Galin+@pitt.edu
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On Wed, 21 Aug 1996, BRADLEY BLECK wrote:

> Mostly I was just looking for a reason to stop lurking on this list, and I
> should probably go back and read the essay to make sure I'm giving an
> accurate recommendation, but a couple years back in _College English_ (or
> else it was CCC) there was an essay by Peter Elbow, I think, titled
> "Ranking, Evaluating, and Liking" or something close to that. I remember
> it going pretty much to the heart of some of the issues people have been
> hitting on in the recent thread about grading. Like many, I hate assigning
> grades, and maybe when I have tenure I won't, but Elbow's essay provided
> me some insight so I could work more on providing evaluation that
> students can use to revise effectively (pretty much by standards I
> articulate of course) rather than my just providing a justification for
> the grade I gave. However, the biggest thing I learned was that I could
> make a conscious effort to like their writing and, boy, did that take some
> of the drudgery out of a stack of essays.
>
>
> Bradley Bleck
> CC of Southern Nevada
> bleckb@nevada.edu
> http://www.ccsn.nevada.edu/english/bleck.html
>
>
> On Wed, 21 Aug 1996, Jeffrey R Galin wrote:
>
> > Suzzane,
> > Sure all gradeless course would change the institution. But such
> > dramatic change rarely occurs within institutions, and until critical
> > mass is reached within any given institution, one course without grades
> > does little to change things. Besides, I don't think grades are the
> > problem. Grades are silly markers that, as Steve has pointed out, serve
> > numerous significant functions. Part of our job is to find ways of
> > evalutation that serve the students best, while still satisfying the
> > institutional need for grades. We have to choose our battles to conserve
> > our energy.
> > cheers,
> > jrg
> >
> >
> > \
> > \ Jeffrey R. Galin
> > _/ Department of English
> > o// University of Pittsburgh
> > /-/ Pittsburgh, PA 15260
> > /\/ (412) 624-6506 (W)
> > |/ (412) 521-1472 (H)
> > // Galin+@pitt.edu
> > o |\ http://www.pitt.edu/~jrgst7/homepage.html
> > |< \ WebRights-L@list.pitt.edu (print/digital publishing)
> > _____/_\__/ Majordomo@list.pitt.edu (subscribe to WebRights-L)
> > _/ \___________________________________________________ . . .
> >
> > On Wed, 21 Aug 1996, Suzanne Cherry wrote:
> >
> > > JRG writes
> > > one gradeless class does not change the institution.
> > >
> > > I'm just wondering, would all gradeless classes change the institution?
> > >
> > > Suzanne
> >