Anti-Climacus

RANDOM OBSERVATION ON GRADING:

I am near completion of my third semester of TAing (was supposed to be done yesterday, but, much like moving or writing a paper, the last bit always takes longer than you intend); all three semesters, I've been one of many TAs (six last year, five last semester, five this semester). Classes of large size don't bother me--my intro political theory lecture had 400 people--and the interaction with students is often deeply rewarding. But I am thoroughly convinced that coordinating multiple graders requires logistical organization seldom observed outside wedding planning. If you are soon or ever to TA with other people, I highly encourage you to make a plan, anticipate contingencies, and pick someone to be the enforcer. Failure to do so is a nightmare.

Relatedly, I can't imagine a three-hour meeting with a student; or I can't imagine one that would end well for the student. I make an effort when I first grade to be as generous as the terms of the assignment and the work in question allows me to be; thus I have never given extra points when a student has come to ask questions. While I don't anticipate that holding up forever, a student has about 15 minutes to make an affirmative case for more points. Pressing beyond that point (it's happened once or twice) increases my resistance to rewarding that behavior with a higher score. At three hours, they'd get the same level of scrutiny in the future, but stop getting the benefit of the doubt.