I only teach one undergraduate class, thankfully. And at the beginning of the spring semester, I pretty-much dread having to babysit the upper-class-girls...many of which remain in a state of extended childhood, without a clue that their (academic) adult lives have already begun. And with them being a pre-professional degree, the pressure to get into grad school is as tough as it is competitive. (For those who recognize reality.) Unfortunately, many of these girls don’t understand this until it’s too late. And I honestly don’t know what they do, once reality catches them. (They've got a worthless degree that isn't good enough to meet the profession's entry-level requirements.) But all in that mess, there’s usually a handful of girls that I actually like; girls that seem to have their head on straight. And this year was no different.

But what really blows is the end of semester grades. For whatever dumb reason, this university only uses whole letter grades (no + or -)...which can have dramatic consequences when trying to get into grad school. A “C” is flat-out unacceptable. A “B” just isn’t competitive.

(And that’s one of the reasons why grad students are just easier; they’re usually the strongest (academically), with a strong internal locus of control. But they also realize that this is their terminal degree, so they don’t grade grub all that much.)

Anyway--Every semester, there are always a few (undergrad) girls who are right on the edge; and do I have hate that situation. If you don’t really care for them--no problems; welcome to the consequences of your semester-long choices. But every now and then, you’ll get one that you actually like--and you’re tempted to treat them differently.

So this temptation (or pressure) to play some kind of academic god is really pretty palpable. No, an 89.11% isn’t a 90%; and I’m truly very sorry. I wish reality was different, but it’s not.

Sorry for the rant...