End of the Theory of Grammar Saga

[cosmolinguist]

So this class with the incomoprehensible, inaccessible seminars! The last one was today!

So for good and adequte reasons, my seminar group only has five people in it. And only one other one turned up today. So the TA just sat next to us and chatted us through it rather than standing at the board and writing it all out. It was a pretty easy task and we finished in about a third of the alloted time. So then he asked us both if we knew which four weeks we wanted to be graded on.

The other girl went first; she had a prepared list. The TA looked them up on his spreadshiet and they were such impressive scores. She got ninety-seven on one of them. I think her scores averaged out at 88 or something. I was embarrassed to go after that; I didn't want to hear my scores and I certainly didn't want anyone else to hear them.

The ones before and after reading week I'd had in mind as okay ones to choose (they were ones where I could pretty much copy out of the textbook, so I was confident I'd done okay). But ever since then I'd done badly again; getting the wrong end of the stick, just knowing I was way off, or whatever. It was really going to come down to these last two. I had to do well on them, and I was really stressed about it the last couple of weeks. Espeically this week when I had to do it in the depths of despair (and the depths of temperature) caused by the boiler having broken for the second time this week.

But I actually thought I pulled it off. I did forget the last question on this week's out of sheer stupidity but even losing those points I think I will do fine. And the three other scores he did give me...were also in the 80s.

I am so relieved. That was such a huge weight on my mind.

More importantly to me than the actual number results, he told me that there was a big difference for me in some of the other scores, I think a lot of them were in the 50s. So it wasn't like this other girl; one of the weeks she didn't choose she'd gotten 90.

It's still a bullshit class and it's going to get a lot of feedback on the course unit survey that I still have to do. But at least I don't have to worry about this or think that I have to ace the exam (which is vanishingly unlikely!) to get a decent grade in this class.

Comments

[angelofthenorth]

that is a relief

[alithea]

Yay, so glad you have that weight off your mind!

[kaberett]

<333

[haggis]

I am still baffled by that weird assessment process. I assume it is based on the assumption that you will know which assignments you were successful at and therefore chose those but deliberately withholding feedback to let my make that assessment is ridiculous.

I am really glad you got good scores despite the systematic bullshit that you had to deal with here.

[cosmolinguist]

Yeah getting no feedback bugged me so much.

I did talk to the tutor today and he was great. He explained that the system was intended to make people turn up to them, but agreed that this doesn't need us to guess which four we did the best on. He reckons that's because previous TAs (this was his first year doing it) were lazy and didn't want to grade them all. Since he has graded them, he agreed it is a shame for us not to get any benefit of that. He says he's happy to talk to me in January about specific feedback on mine, which is awesome. And he let me rant at him (very kind when it's not his system and there isn't anything he can do about it!) and helped me articulate a couple more things for the feedback survey.

So it was a really positive thing. If exhausting. :)

[barakta]

Well done, and yes I hear you on exhausting.

Grades in the 80s are very fucking respectable btw... The fact you've achieved them with 35935 x more shit and 8926395 x less access than most classmates is amazing (don't forget that!).

[cosmolinguist]

Some other stuff the TA said made it clear that at least some of the grading is at his discretion and he's been very generous with us. :) Also he's not English so I think he's actually grading us out of 100 rather than not giving anyone a score higher than 70 as seems the norm here. ;)

[barakta]

You don't care if it's generous, it's all marks towards your final degree :) :)

Marking does seem to be deeply peculiar, but can't be challenged cos "academic freedom!" which is just BS for no oversight.

[cosmolinguist]

You don't care if it's generous, it's all marks towards your final degree :) :)

Aaaaabsolutely. :) I think I'll need all the help I can get with this class!

[barakta]

*thumbs up*

When do you break up for festive season?

[cosmolinguist]

Today. I've just got an essay to write before we go to my parents', then another that's due just before my exams start, then exams to revise for. :)

[barakta]

Not much rest for you yet then. Sending you spoons!

[cosmolinguist]

No, it doesn't feel like a rest at all. I can't switch off the part of my brain that feels like I should be working on essays or packing lists or something all the time.

[barakta]

Tiring. I send you spoons and solidarity. Hope you can do what you need and still survive the Minnesota trip.

[worlds_of_smoke]

I'm so glad to hear this!

[silveradept]

Very glad you're getting out of there with excellent marks, and that you are going to be able to light a fire underneath someone's ass about this terrible marking system.

[jesse_the_k]

Wooo hooo! I'm relieved to hear this, and wish you the best possible holiday travels.