Student Expects Perfection

[Miss Fatale]

I am a writing instructor. I have advanced degrees in English and history; I think I'm a pretty good writer. I'm not perfect -- sometimes I misspell things, or use the wrong word, etc.

A student, upset about their grade, wrote, "I notice you make mistakes, and sometimes misspell words and run words together. As the instructor, shouldn't you be perfect?"

Alas, I must settle for being human.

[Soulstealer]

I am a writing instructor. I have advanced degrees in English and history; I think I'm a pretty good writer. I'm not perfect -- sometimes I misspell things, or use the wrong word, etc.

A student, upset about their grade, wrote, "I notice you make mistakes, and sometimes misspell words and run words together. As the instructor, shouldn't you be perfect?"

Alas, I must settle for being human.

Having seen my public law tutor's handwriting I can't believe in the fairy tale world your student lives in. Smart woman, but penmanship needs work. She can sit next to me in the 'better living through good handwriting' class.

I don't see why the student expects perfection when he probably didn't give it.

[Mnemjian]

There's nothing quite like a student who is unhappy with their grade In a class I'm taking this semester a student tried to call out a teacher on a stupid mistake (teacher had written the date for the final wrong; he probably mixed it up with his other class) and the student tried to say that since he got that wrong then the grade he had given the student for this essay might be wrong too. That's not how it works, buddy. Teachers get to be human, too. You still fail!

[South Texan]

As a student, shouldn't s/he be astute enough not to snap at the hand that marks the final grade and has the power to curve it up a little?

[EvilEmpryss]

I have no problem allowing that my instructors are human and make the occassional mistake (I forgive them, they forgive me, everybody ).

What I can't stand from psychology instructors in a formal graduate-level environment is when they try to be "cool" and l33t speak or use smilies. That, or they blatantly fail to check their spelling and grammar (no one drawing a teacher's pay should be using "your" instead of "you're" every time!). Aaaaarrrrgggghhhh! You're a professional! Act like one!

Oh, and thank you, Miss Fatale, for carrying on the struggle to bash proper styles of communication into the thick skulls of the next generation!

[Jester]

"I notice you make mistakes, and sometimes misspell words and run words together. As the instructor, shouldn't you be perfect?"

"As the instructor, *I* am the one grading your tests and papers. I myself am not being graded, as I have gone through school and graduated with the degree of my choice, which is why *I* am now teaching YOU. So shut the fuck up and pay more attention to what your own lame ass is screwing up than the few mistakes I might humanly make, Mr. Turd Monkey in Training."

And people wonder why I never went into education.....

[Miss Fatale]

Jester, I love you.

And everyone else, thank you for your kind words. It's amazing how these kinds of ramblings can really stick with you; I appreciate everyone's encouragement.

[Jester]

Jester, I love you.

I bask in your adoration.

[Magpie]

As a student, shouldn't s/he be astute enough not to snap at the hand that marks the final grade and has the power to curve it up a little?

Should be and is are two very different concepts, especially as they relate to students, unfortunately.

What I can't stand from psychology instructors in a formal graduate-level environment is when they try to be "cool" and l33t speak or use smilies. That, or they blatantly fail to check their spelling and grammar (no one drawing a teacher's pay should be using "your" instead of "you're" every time!). Aaaaarrrrgggghhhh! You're a professional! Act like one!

I had a prof (in a liberal arts course no less) who did seem to understand the difference between "effect" and "affect", based on the fact that he said I was using the wrong one in one of my essays. Unfortunately, he seemed to have their meanings reversed. I questioned one of his slides, because I didn't think what he mentioned would have caused a field to arise (he said that X effected the field), and he tried to say that yes, it made sense, of course that would influence the field (he meant to say that X affected the field). I just shut my mouth.

[elsporko]

I've never expected perfection although I have had a few professors from whom competence would have been nice, although the one who didn't understand the grading scale she invented and gave As to everybody was kind of nice.

[EvilEmpryss]

Competence! THAT'S the right word! Perfection is impossible, but competence should be the minimum standard for anyone who is responsible for teaching something to another person!

Okay, competence and professionalism (however that may be defined for your career field).

[42_42_42]

As the instructor, shouldn't you be perfect?"

So I guess this means she thinks you're God? Hmmmm. That could have its advantages.

Re: affect/effect - if ever there were two words that had potential to confuse the mess out of people.

First, affect can be a either a verb or a noun, with a total of 3 meanings (to verb meanings and one noun). Likewise, effect can also be either a verb or a noun. So you can't use the part of speech to keep them straight.

To compound the problem, they both come from the same Latin root facere (to do), with affect having the root prefix ad (to) and effect having the root prefix ex (out).

I'm not sure how it is elsewhere in the English-speaking world, but where I live (southeast US), both affect and effect tend to be pronounced so closely the same that the difference is unintelligible to most people.

Me, I tend to try to avoid using either one.

[EvilEmpryss]

This site is a lifesaver when figuring out which word to use: http://www.confusingwords.com/

[redmountaingoldfish]

"I notice you make mistakes, and sometimes misspell words and run words together.

Just checking; you're not one of those instructors that takes 2-3% of the total grade off for each typo or misspelling, are you? Because if that's the case it sounds like they're just calling you out for expecting perfection and failing to deliver.

I assume that's not the case given your reaction, then I agree, they're expecting way too much.

[EvilEmpryss]

Just checking; you're not one of those instructors that takes 2-3% of the total grade off for each typo or misspelling, are you?

You are absolutely right that one or two spelling errors usually shouldn't destroy a grade. That said, have you seen some of the schlock being turned in by students lately? I've read graduate level papers from native English speakers that ought to fail just on poor spelling, grammar, and punctuation alone. We're talking theses and dissertations, here!

With all of the resources available on the internet and through school tutors and writing labs there is no reason someone past their first year in college shouldn't be able to abide by the basic rules of their native language. These same students will then go entitlement whore on you when you try to dock them points for the errors, even though the class rubric specifically lists improper spelling, grammar, punctuation, and formatting as cause for losing points. They will cuss, threaten, cajole, and plead for the points to be restored.

They do everything but the one thing they need to do to keep from losing the points... http://www.jumbojoke.com/i_have_to_pass_this_class.html