ok the plant is gone!

yay

OK. My grading system for my students, which I explained to them quite a few times, is that I don't curve, but everybody will get at least the grade that their average would dictate based on a normal grading scheme -- so a 90 will be at least an A-, an 80 will be at least a B-, and so on. I determine exactly where the break points are between grades by looking at the averages -- there are generally obvious places, like if a bunch of people got around 85, and then a bunch more got between 78 and 80, then the bunch around 85 get a B and the bunch between 78 and 80 get a B-.

Throughout the semester, maybe five times, I've calculated the students averages, posted them on Blackboard (a website where they can check stuff like that), and sent out an email telling them approximately where the dividing lines between grades would be if they were being calculated from those averages.

One of my students emailed me to say that his grade isn't fair, because he has an average of 60, which would be a C- based on the last breakdown I emailed them (after the last quiz -- it would be a D+ on some of the previous ones), but he got a D+ based on the way the grades ended up after the final. He says it's unfair, because based on that last breakdown, he was aiming for a 70 on the final, which would give him a 60 as an average, which he thought would give him a C-, and he got the 60 average that he was aiming for but didn't get the C-, because the breakpoints changed.

I'm kind of unsure here. I feel bad that he thought that he'd get the C- with a 60 and didn't, but I also know that I told them that the earlier grade breakdowns were approximate and were only based on the averages at that point. I'm a little bit iffy on what to do here. Any suggestions?

Who the hell aims for a 70 on their final? Or on any test?

Well, I've been that lost before, but I'm not sure I'd confess it to my instructor at this late date.

Yeah, I guess that's really my question. Who tries to use that as a defense?

So I called Mazda to complain about all the problems my brand-new car has been having, and they're sending me a $250 voucher! And then I finagled another $25 voucher to get a bottle of touch-up paint. Sweet.

I didn't know you were having problems P-C.

ION. It's official. With the big Gala happening Saturday, in the new building that isn't complete yet, and rain at 60% chance, PANIC has set in! (not me...the others...me, I'm calm. Mostly. Just.Want.It.Done!)

I've been looking at the pictures from my trip back to Pennsylvania last year for my Mother's funeral, and I'm getting all choked up. I'm not sure if it's unrecognized grief for her or for that world that is so alien to me now. The longing for the place is strong. It was all about the person I could become back when I lived there. 25 years on, I don't know if I honestly miss it that much or I'm just being maudlin for lost opportunities.

I didn't know you were having problems P-C.

1. I had to get my power steering rack replaced because it was leaking.

2. I had to get my taillights replaced because there was condensation on the inside, indicating a leaky seal.

3. They found some loose grounds in the transmission that don't appear to have been the reason my car sometimes jerks forward when I slow down (because it still does that).

So it's been an annoying first three months of car ownership.

With the big Gala happening Saturday

All you need is to have a Phantom show up dressed in red.