I had a professor who actually did something like this, way back in my college days.
He announced in the first class meeting that he wanted only students who were interested in the subject….
and he didn’t really believe in grades.
He was going to try an experiment with our class:
For next time, we were to bring him a piece of paper with our name on it, the grade we wanted for the semester, and the reason…. and he’d give it to us.
And after that, he said, the subject would be interesting, but the reading and attendance would both be voluntary.
I asked for an “A”…. my mama didn’t raise no idjits.
My reason was something like “I’m taking some difficult science classes this semester, and an A would probably improve my GPA.”
After that, a few of us attended almost every class…. it was interesting… we sat outdoors, as I recall, on nice days…. and brought snacks to share.
But you didn’t need an excuse to skip it.
Near the end of the semester he gave us a report on his experiment….
Of the something like 30 or 40 enrolled, fewer than a dozen had asked for "A"’s….
Most had asked for "B"’s, as I recall….. but quite a few for "C"s, because they thought that’s what they would deserve.
One girl had asked for a “D”….he said he’d figured out who she was, and stopped her after class to ask whether she understood the assignment….
She said she did, and that she’d asked for a “D” because she didn’t plan to work very hard, so it would be fair.
Only one student came to him a few weeks later and asked for a higher grade.
He gave everybody what they’d asked for.
There was no trouble with the university because it was almost a normal curve.
Amazing.
I’ve thought about it a lot of times over the years and I still can’t believe it.
I had a professor who actually did something like this, way back in my college days.
He announced in the first class meeting that he wanted only students who were interested in the subject….
and he didn’t really believe in grades.
He was going to try an experiment with our class:
For next time, we were to bring him a piece of paper with our name on it, the grade we wanted for the semester, and the reason…. and he’d give it to us.
And after that, he said, the subject would be interesting, but the reading and attendance would both be voluntary.
I asked for an “A”…. my mama didn’t raise no idjits.
My reason was something like “I’m taking some difficult science classes this semester, and an A would probably improve my GPA.”
After that, a few of us attended almost every class…. it was interesting… we sat outdoors, as I recall, on nice days…. and brought snacks to share.
But you didn’t need an excuse to skip it.
Near the end of the semester he gave us a report on his experiment….
Of the something like 30 or 40 enrolled, fewer than a dozen had asked for "A"’s….
Most had asked for "B"’s, as I recall….. but quite a few for "C"s, because they thought that’s what they would deserve.
One girl had asked for a “D”….he said he’d figured out who she was, and stopped her after class to ask whether she understood the assignment….
She said she did, and that she’d asked for a “D” because she didn’t plan to work very hard, so it would be fair.
Only one student came to him a few weeks later and asked for a higher grade.
He gave everybody what they’d asked for.
There was no trouble with the university because it was almost a normal curve.
Amazing.
I’ve thought about it a lot of times over the years and I still can’t believe it.
I wonder what would happen today.