This week my students are in survival mode -- get it done, NOW!
At least 10 of my Ethics students have turned in their final papers. All they want to do is to be done so they can move on... I really can't blame them.
Today will be fun -- especially for my afternoon logic class. Many of them will find out today that they are done with logic for the semester. In order to be done, they must have a minimum grade of C on every assignment (not a C average). They also need an A on one of the last three quizzes. Most of them got their A on the last one -- which was pretty darned hard. They worked hard and today they'll get the instant payoff... one little letter written on a grade report.
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I tried to do something like this in a class last year and it backfired. Those students with an A average on their papers didn't have to write their final paper. It seemed to me they had proved themselves. (I admit that part of my mistake was deciding this after the semester began.)
I asked them not to share this info with others, not because I didn't want others to know, but because others get very confused, very easily. All it takes is one person to mishear and then I get "I didn't do that paper because so and so said we didn't have to!"
Why this backfired, though, is because of course it got out, and one person came to me to complain. Here's why (let me know how the logic reads to YOU): Because I am the one who graded the papers, I cannot be trusted to decide who is exempt from the final. If someone else graded the papers, then it would be fair for me to make this decision. Because I graded the papers, I am probably choosing to let my favorites get out of a paper.
???
Clearly this one needed to write at least one more paper.
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