...and it's not because the leaves are turning and there's a crispness in the air. It's autumn in MedievalWomanland because I gave my first test today. Almost all of them took the entire time - I even had to rip the blue books out of a couple of students' hands! There little eyes were so rimmed with fear and worry...
Why? I have no idea. I give such fluffy tests - seriously, if you do the reading and pay attention in class, you'll ace the test. I mean, isn't that sort of what we're supposed to be testing them on? Um, the material? For some reason they still think there's a hidden formula or alchemical equation that they need to find in order to pass - is it just my exams? Do you all meet with this reaction? I tell them that I want analysis and synthesize rather than regurgitation and they begin to tremble with foreboding. What gives?
I've already had FOUR students email to tell me they feel (to quote one) "icky" about how they did on the test. Icky? That sounds like a particularly annoying yearly visit to the doctor. But I digress. They are all protesting that they studied really hard and they want me to know that they studied hard...hmmm.
I feel like I wasn't this manic as an undergraduate - and since I'm just far enough away from my undergraduate years to have them placed somewhere on that fuzzy horizon of my memory, I'm not sure if this recollection is correct. But it doesn't feel (in an atavistic racial memory sort of way) like I was this manic about fluffy tests in undergrad.
In totally unrelated news: apparently Furball #2's bloodwork was a-okay because I didn't hear from the vet today - yee-ha! Dodged another bullet. It reminds me of that "No Gnews is Good Gnews with Gary Gnu" from the Great Space Coaster, tha awesome show of the 80s.
Please tell me I'm not the only one who remembers that...
3 comments:
I remember the great space coaster! I liked the Electric Company more, though.
The students, they are not strong and hardy like when we were undergrads and had to take tests for six miles in the snow uphill both ways. Durn kids!
But more seriously, how are their averages after a buttkicking? Are they just complaining preemptively or do they usually bomb your exams?
I had an intro to lit class where _everyone_ stayed the whole time on their final and _everyone_ commented on what a killer it was --- and then they did fine, had a b, b+ average on it. Everyone finished and said what I wanted to hear. So I couldn't figure that one out.
That was the '80s? Dang, I thought that had a '70s feel to it, like "The Banana Splits." Or maybe it was supposed to be the '80s version of the "Banana Splits."
It's going around. My students are freaking about grades (mid terms must be designed this way) and much less about demonstrating learning, no matter what I tell 'em.
It doesn't help that other profs do want regurgitation and seem to penalize anything else.
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