Just when I promised myself to be more positive and to rant less comes today's NYTimes and the article titled "Student Expectations Seen as Causing Grade Disputes". (The Times does set the bar high, I expect tomorrow's front page to have the Headline, "Wife's Expectations Cause Husband to Sleep in Garage." But, I digress.)
Within the article can be found the following quotes:
A recent study by researchers at the University of California, Irvine, found that a third of students surveyed said that they expected B’s just for attending lectures, and 40 percent said they deserved a B for completing the required reading.
Nearly two-thirds of the students surveyed said that if they explained to a professor that they were trying hard, that should be taken into account in their grade.
One young scholar provided the following quote:
“If you put in all the effort you have and get a C, what is the point?” he added. “If someone goes to every class and reads every chapter in the book and does everything the teacher asks of them and more, then they should be getting an A like their effort deserves. If your maximum effort can only be average in a teacher’s mind, then something is wrong.”
This certainly explains the complaints on student evaluations that grading expectations of faculty are too high. Actually requiring skill attainment appears to demand too much when wanting skill attainment or "trying hard" should be enough. Maybe we could add a few questions to the faculty eval that allow students to indicate what their expectations are. Of course this would only tell us what we don't really want to know from those customer satisfaction surveys.
OK! I get it. In the spirit of disengagement from reality, if today's reactions don't work I am submitting them to JACS anyway! Damn it, the reviewers should recognize how hard I worked to try to prove my hypothesis, how much I wanted it. Following this I will be submitting grant applications to NSF, because I will try hard to prove that the correct incantation will yield chirality. And how dare they not publish my papers and fund my grants.
To put it in terms outside chemistry, I have always wanted to play in major league baseball, in the NFL, and sing opera. The fact that I can't hit a curve ball, I am over 50, and my mother told me I can't carry a tune in a bucket should not matter. All that should matter is that I want it and I try hard. Skills be damned.
Be it professional sport, Survivor, or American Idol (two shows my students love) we have no problem judging people by their skills rather than their effort or desire. We do ourselves no favors when we allow the next generations to disconnect success for skill.
Whew! I think I need a cool compress (or perhaps a cool drink).
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