Look with your eyes, not with your hands.


Such a minute fraction of this life do we live: so much is sleep, tooth-brushing, waiting for mail, for metamorphosis, for those sudden moments of incandescence: unexpected, but once one knows them, one can live life in the light of their past and the hope of their future.



A grad student muses on her life, film, friends, politics, reality televizzle, and music.

 
This Should Go Without Saying...

Because I see myself teetering on the edge of a very grade grubby semester, I issued the following proclamation to my intro to public speaking students:

Hello All,
I haven't written an email like this before, but because it
seems to be a concern this semester, I think I'd like to address
it up front. This semester, many of you seem very concerned about
your grade in the class.  And while I understand the desire to
succeed academically, I am concerned that the emphasis
seems to be placed more on numerical success without giving
much regard to your personal development at as a writer,
public speaker, and student. 

I am happy to discuss individual concerns you may have about your grade, but I invite you to
re-visit page 7 in SCR and the grading criteria.  For those of
you chasing an "A" use those guidelines to insure that your
work aligns.  I am not dismissing your academic goals - I
know that many of you have high aspirations for yourself - but 
look them over and make sure you are submitting your best
efforts.

You should know that I am a fairly challenging grader - I
refuse to hand out As for what appears to me as mediocre or
average work.  I will gladly award As to the students who earn
them.  I want you to succeed, but I will not inflate your grade
unfairly.

Also, please, don't worry about the first assignment.  It is
worth 5% of your grade, overall.  It is basically a diagnostic.  It
shows me (and you) where you are starting from and places
for improvement in the semester.  So if you aren't entirely
happy with the speech / delivery, don't worry, you have plenty
of chances to improve your work as the semester ticks on.  In
order to do well in this class, you need to put in a consistent
effort every day. 

In general, one of the most important lessons I learned as a
student is not to worry exclusively about grades.  When I
stepped back, started to view assignments as opportunities to
improve my skills and further my interests, I found them to be
much more rewarding.

Now to practice what I preach, and finally lay out my presentation for French Cinema tomorrow.
posted by lmjasinski at 1:18 PM