Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Keepongoing]

Just curious if a student ever threatened over a grade you gave them

[Sadebugo1]

Not threatened per se, but harrassed beyond all belief! I gave a student a grade of 'B' at a university. She had missed most of the classes due to a part-time job. The department had cleared her to do this and told me not to punish her on the attendance portion of her grade (20%). However, I wasn't going to reward her and decided to take out that area and grade her only on the other four (Final, Midterm, Quizzes, and Participation). Her grades were good but not great and she ended up with a B. Anyway, she called, visited, called again, complained to others and would not let up! I explained it to her in every way I could but ultmately, told her I would not give her a grade she hadn't earned. Fortunately, I was able to flee to Bangkok for the three-month winter vacation but she continued to e-mail asking me to tell the registrar I had calculated her grade incorrectly! I thought I was going to have to leave the school to get away from her!

The lesson I learned after that experience was to send them the calculation of their results when asked, but then have no further contact after that. It only encourages them to keep trying.

Sadebugo
http://travldawrld.blogspot.com/

[cubanlord]

This will be an interesting thread if anyone shares their stories, if, they have any.

It's ironic that I find this thread today. Yesterday, I went in to update 48 computers at work. My boss comes running into my office with a stead in tow. The student is contesting a grade he earned in his listening class (a different teacher). Well, I go and get the teacher's packet where all of the information I need can be found (e.g. attendance, participation, mid-term, final, etc.).

We go into the boss's office and I take about 2 minutes to check the teacher's evaluation. He was spot on. I then inform my boss that I concur with the other teacher's assessment of this student (we have a grading curve and the kid was not curved up).

For the next hour, the kid is arguing with my boss as to why he should be given a 60 rather than a 59. He needs to pass, for whatever reason. I stand firmly with my decision on not giving him an extra point. So does my boss. Throughout the hour, he gets louder and more aggressive. I honestly thought he was going to assault her.

My boss was very polite at first, but by the end of the conversation she is getting up, arms waving, fingers pointing, and ban-mal flying every which way at him (she was using a lot of honorific language at first like -yo and -emmneka, emmnida, etc.).

I'm standing there between the student (a good-sized gent.) and my boss (this little old lady). I can't stop thinking if this dude is going to jump. Well, my boss had enough and told him she has things to do. She goes back to her desk and the student sits there quietly for 5 minutes. He looks at me and says, "Teacher, me F? You tell me, me F." So I told him, "had you not missed 3 classes, 2 homeworks, and had you not forgotten your book twice, even though you got a 51% on the mid-term and a 50% on the final, you would have passed. However, you will not because you didn't help yourself." He left.

[Teddycakes21]

[chrisblank]

I had a guy who was potentially pretty good, fluent in English, spent a couple of years in the US. He could have passed any conversation class easily...but he missed about 2/3 of the classes.

As he explained it, he had a class in the morning before my class and one in the afternoon after my class and he "just couldn't handle three classes in one day". I spoke to his other teachers and found that he was doing well in those classes. So, against my better judgment I decided to give him a chance to pass the course. He had to complete the homework and then submit some make-up work. He did the work, if a little half-@$$ed, but it was done. I was fully willing to give him a C so he could graduate...

Then the day of the final exam rolled around and he didn't show up. Two days later he came by and explained that he had forgotten to do the exam. So I failed him. He then spent about 4 hours camped out in front of my office asking for another chance. I finally got rid of him and he did the same the next day. Same deal...begging for another chance. I told him that he had already had a second and third chance. I finally had to do some yelling to get him off my back.

[calicoe]

OMG - universities do NOT sound like a piece of cake. What a bunch of irresponsible psychos!

[Khenan]

Well, if you're already going to fail, it doesn't hurt to ask... over, and over, and over...

[storysinger81]

These stories make me really happy that I teach at a foreign language high school instead of a uni here in Korea.

However, for some perspective: The woman who held my position in the states before I did quit because a kid jabbed a pencil through her eye when she made a negative comment about his essay.

I worked in a special part of the U.S.

[contacts]

[cubanlord]

[Draz]

[kimchi_pizza]

[yingwenlaoshi]

I think you guys should have them draw their grades from a hat.

[zappadelta]

[Goon-Yang]

Obviously you guys are grading the wrong way.

1) Draw 6 lines equadistant apart.
2) Put a desk in front of the first line.
3) Place a fan on this desk.
4) Put small pieces of paper with student # on them in front of the fan.
5) turn on the fan.

Between the first 2 lines is an A., 2nd and 3rd is a B and so on.

All done in about 3 mins total. That's how I do it