::A Geek in Korea::

I’ve learned a lot teaching at a University that offers for credit classes. This is the first time I’ve had to give a grade with weight, curve, and impact to people that were in my class. While it might seem strange to have taught for eight years and never have given an actual “grade” before, keep in mind that I mostly worked at academies.

The private academy system in Korea is a chaotic mess run for profit. Money. Cash. That’s it. It is only mildly interested in the promotion of English skills as a way of further promoting the bottom line. Whenever grading periods came up, or a “level” had been achieved, the majority of the time the word would come down from a director that you can’t give failing grades. Ever. Failing grades are anything below a B. You can pass any class with the promise of paying for the next class in advance, regardless if you can do the work or not.

The only effort that supposedly exists in an academy setting is an above average to excellent effort if you look at a “report card”. Even if it means pushing along kids that haven’t yet mastered the basic skills required for the next level. If you can re-sell books to students and get them to pay to start a new class, you’ve got them for a few more months. Then it’s time to push them along and sell more books. There are some directors that are trying their best to help kids keep their skills fresh and encourage achievement while also making a profit, but they are rare.

Anyway, being in a position to give actual grades now is a very disorienting experience. People in Korea lobby their teachers for their grades at the end of the semester. This is an acceptable practice in a university. The students think that a final grade is OPEN FOR NEGOTIATION! I can’t imagine EVER going up to one of my college professors and giving them a critical word about my grading. It simply wasn’t done. You’d be laughed out of the room.

It’s not officially policy. You can’t be given bribes because of ethics rules, and students are only “asking about their grades”, but in actuality, students will come in and try to lobby you with sad stories to get better grades. For weeks at a time I have to keep my grades available online to my students so that they can contact me. My entire class today was spent talking to students about their grades and explaining the curve and why it limited the grades I could give to them. Not everyone can get an A+. That’s just how it works.

If they don’t like their grades, they can complain. They leave comments about the class that directly affect my chances at being rehired, so keeping students happy is in my best interest, but I have a curve to follow. I can’t hand out grades as I please, or I’d get fired for that too. You need to draw the line somewhere. I had some students pleasantly surprised when they got my grades, and others that begged me for one more letter grade. There are problems with the curve, but it is a good reason to stop people complaining about their grades when you explain it well enough.

“Oh, if I don’t get this particular grade, I’ll miss my scholarship application rules, and I’ll be forced into quiting school. You’ll be responsible for ruining my life! Why would you do this to me!”

“Well, you didn’t come to class often, did poorly on your final, barely can speak, and you want to get an B+?”

“Yes!”

“Ugh.”

I’ve already had to deal with a student that will not accept a grade I gave him. This grade was ALREADY a compromise, and he is trying to demand more. It’s absolutely ridiculous. That particular student is going to feel my wrath if he takes it any farther. I fully expect to have to fight with him about his grade if he lobbies a person higher in the English department. It might eat up hours of my time, but I took a stand on principal that he wouldn’t get a grade I felt he didn’t deserve simply because he had a sad story for me.

No matter what grade it is, they always need one more point, or one more letter grade to succeed. The application process must really have hard times finding anyone to meet their requirements because everyone is just short if their teachers didn’t let them give a grade they didn’t deserve. This starts all the way back in elementary school and by the time these students reach university they grow to expect their grades to be the same high scores they’ve always gotten.