Kristina, that's very nicely put. I think it's especially important that teachers get to know their students. That is a dilemma when classes are so large. I think our efforts this semester in Women and Society have shown that we can accomplish that, even with large classes. But just maybe my exhaustiion says we need to provide some support help.
I think what seems fair about my grading is the choice it allows you and the freedom it provides from fear of tests. I'm trying to measure what you actually have learned. That means, what is going to stick with you after your formal education is over, and what will be useful to you in your own experiences. The pressure of cramming, which all of us do these days, since the fast-track pace forces us to, makes a test more stressful than a valid measure of learning should be. Some people, like my mother used to, freeze with fear at having to take a test. Others learn that testing is a game, learn to play the game well, and that bask on those skills without much real concern for a liberal arts education that will open them to new worlds of learning.
This semester, I've learned how important the comments are to my teaching and grading. They really are permitting me to get to know you, and a permitting you to mull over issues of real importance to us all. Good practice for public sphere discourse on governance.
I think your last sentence: "I am seen as an individual, a woman, who is striving to learn, and to excel, regardless of my minor flaws." says very well what this kind of teaching is all about. We need to come to know and trust each other as learners. We've forgotten how important trust is in learning.
A Justice Site
jeannecurran@habermas.org