And So It Begins...

You’re checking your email.  It’s the week before the semester begins, and you’ve neglected your messages as of late.  It’s summer break, after all.

Buried in the middle of your unread messages is one from a student in your summer class last month at Verdant Meadows Community College.  The subject, predictably, is “Grade?”

From: Lindy (annoyedstudent@me.com)

Sent: Friday, August 5, 2016 3:21 am

To: Unassuming Scholar

Subject: Grade???

Mr. Scholar,

I’m emailing you directly because you haven’t answered my Whiteboard messages.  Why haven’t you lowered the points possible on Whiteboard for homework and participation like you promised?  Checking my grades, my percentage is 89.2%.  You said you’d round up the points and you didn’t!

Please get back to me ASAP.

Lindy Smith

Ah, the sense of entitlement is strong in this one, you think.   You’re not sure which to curse first—the Whiteboard feature which renders student grades as percentages and cannot be disabled by the instructor, or the grade-grubbing student.  ASAP?  You kick yourself, having once more forgotten the new rules of the higher ed game.  In a time when students slip off to Cancun or the Bahamas midsemester with nary a word to their profs only to rematerialize weeks later wanting to know if they missed anything, no faculty member dare take time off or be unavailable ever.

However, you know there really isn’t a problem.  Perhaps the young princess has seen her final grade report in the intervening two weeks and has discovered everything’s okay after all.

You dash off a short reply:

From: Unassuming Scholar (scholar@vmcc.edu)

Sent: Friday, August 19, 2016 12:15 pm

To: Lindy

Subject: Re: Grade???

           Lindy,

As I said in class, count the points and ignore the percentages.  With the extra credit you submitted, you finished with an A.

Prof. Scholar

You figure this should be the end of it.  But it never is.  The response pops up within minutes.

From: Lindy (annoyedstudent@me.com)

Sent: Friday, August 19, 2016 12:24 pm

To: Unassuming Scholar

Subject: RE: Re: Grade???

           Mr. Scholar,

I’ve been waiting for your answer.  Why did you take so long?  I don’t understand your explanation.

Just so you know, I posted a review of your class at [That Website Which Shall Not Be Named].  People need to know how unfair you are.

Lindy

Now you are simply flabbergasted.  Positively gobsmacked.  You marvel at your ability to inspire ingratitude.  While you couldn’t care less about the bad review she said she wrote, since as a professional you are accountable to your colleagues and institution and not to the personal opinions of the “customers” in the classroom, you do wonder how such allegedly intelligent people cannot understand a simple arithmetic concept you’ve explained time and again to every section each semester.

On the other hand, you would be most interested if this particular student lodged a complaint with your department.  “I got an A, and I’m outraged!”  That would be one for the books.

But you wouldn’t be surprised one bit if she did.  The new academic year is upon us.  You can only wonder what new horrors it will bring. 

© 2016 The Unassuming Scholar