A letter to my GA,
Howdy, random, blonde, girl who asks too many questions during lab here. Today I received points taken off of my 17 page lab report, that I spent 7 hours working on, because the equipment that I listed in the materials and methods was incorrect. Keep in mind that the equipment I listed was the version listed on the class information page. Little did I know, this was not the updated version we were actually using. I will note that you had told us the version we were using, but that was about 2 labs ago… Which I would round to about 20 pages of notes ago. Today you told me that I could not receive these points back because you didn’t have the authority to update the class webpage and therefore, it was not your problem.
Now, I’m not sure what the benefit you receive from running my lab. I’m willing to guess that you don’t want to be a teacher. But you should know, I do. I’m in my senior year at Texas A&M University. The only thing that stands in the way of that pretty piece of paper is a semester of student teaching, and well, you of course. And so I have a few things to say to you…
Someday I am going to stand in the front of my classroom and look into the eyes of my students and watch as they grasp the information that I am telling them and then they will all make 100s on their tests. Highly unlikely right? Instead, I’ll stand in the front of my classroom and attempt to teach them to be critical thinkers. At the end of lessons, I will assess their learning. I will test my students and the reward them for the content that they do know. I will correct them when they’re wrong and take points away so that their grade reflects their level of understanding.
So my question to you is… By taking away points from me because I listed the wrong materials, that were posted incorrectly on the class webpage, reflect a grade that showed my understanding of the lab? Doubtful. And so I urge you to reconsider. I urge you to reconsider because my level of knowledge concerning “the effect a longer lever arm has on the velocity of a tennis serve,” was clearly present. But instead you took points away in a manner that seemed as if you were playing a game of” Gotcha” and you caught me doing something wrong. Points that I need to pass this class. All because you felt that correcting the website wasn’t in your abilities and therefore, “not your problem.” Maybe it’s not your problem, but it’s mine. And I would hope that you would want to see your students be successful.
Sincerely,
A current student, future teacher, and frustrated Aggie