I’m going to start off this callout post by putting it out there that I appreciate and respect my professors. At the same time, I am an economics major. Eco-nom-ics. Not astrophysics, not applied math, not pre-med, and despite all of Prezbo’s lackluster campaigning, not a STEM major.
So imagine my reaction when I enrolled in an economics class early this semester and was pleasantly surprised to find out that my professor curved our final grades to, yep, a mother hecking B minus. B-, folks!
I am confused, disheartened, and distraught, to say the least. Perturbed, even. In another life, I used to rely upon a curve like a bed of fluffy cloud, ready to catch me as I navigated new academic concepts and inevitably made some mistakes along the way. No longer is it so. Having a curve to a B- is like a trust fall with a friend, except without the friend. Like what the heck?
Please, someone, do tell, what is the pedagogical purpose for having such a stupidly low curve? Is the professor just a sadist? Or is he or she just attempting to demotivate me from further studying this subject? Is this some kind of sick game? Or just an experimental teaching style? Like I might not have explicitly mentioned it in my supplemental statements in my college app all those years ago, but I thought it was pretty obvious why I chose CC over SEAS. Isn’t the deal that because I can actually read, I get to have a more forgiving curve? I’m just kidding (sort of).
Photo via Bwog Archives
2 Comments
@Anonymous In the 1950s curves were C+
@CC16 This was one of the best articles I’ve read about grades, maybe ever. Thank you!