Rant

I've returned their first big paper back to the class I'm TAing. The professor I'm TAing for is looking for a higher range of grades (mostly A's and B's) than I'm used to assigning (for other professors, it's been A's and B's and C's). Regardless, the inevitable meetings with students afterwards take all my patience and strength.

It's one thing when students ask me how they can improve their writing for the next paper. That's perfectly fine--I enjoy helping students with their writing.

What the majority of students do is not this. They explain to me that they've worked really hard on their papers (giving me unnecessary details--how hard you've worked isn't really relevant here--the quality of your work is), maintaining that they're disappointed with their grade, implying that I'm the disappointment. I imagine, although I'm not sure, that these students treat their TA's much worse than they would their professors. They act as if I owe them an A, and any points that I take off of their paper I need to explain (when in fact, a good paper is something like a B+, while it is only a very good paper that earns an A).

When I explained to one student what his paper was lacking, he told me that next time he'd draw up an even more detailed outline that we would go over so that something like this wouldn't happen again. Goodness gracious! When helping students with their outlines I give them the absolutely best, most helpful advice I can. But I'm not writing their papers. Additionally, every contingency is not going to occur to me--a written paper often contains errors that I didn't anticipate. My job is not to help them get an A. I'm with Plato--not everyone is going to get an A, even if he works really, really hard.

What is most amazing is the condescension. I am simply someone who is standing in the way of an A. I am not a teacher to these students. The point of the class, for them, is not knowledge.

Oh for the day that I will command as much respect as Fr. Schall. I remember the day that some confused freshman expressed some anxiety about his grade in Schall's class. Fr. Schall looked at him with surprise and dismay and said, ever so kindly and firmly, "Oh no, don't worry about that." It was as if he was chiding the student for being vulgar.