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(aka Bike) Part 2068 by Angharad Copyright © 2013 Angharad
All Rights Reserved. |
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The university was pretty well empty of students and I spent a whole morning marking exam papers. I don’t know what other people do, but I use a check list of key words/phrases I expect to see, and if they use them appropriately, they get marks for them. I also keep a couple of marks for extra effort or research done by the student, if they can quote a source I haven’t given them or done something off their own initiative, they can get extra marks and I keep a couple of marks I can award for a well presented paper and good spelling. Unfortunately, the students who come from better schools tend to have better spelling, presentation skills and more confidence–so get better marks.
But it’s never quite that cut and dried. Last year I had a female student who wasn’t performing as I expected. She was bright but not brilliant and very lacking in self confidence. Her marks through the year had been adequate to good and I considered she’d get a 2.2 degree.
Half way through the year her marks dropped making a 2.2 look unlikely and she obviously wasn’t paying attention in lectures because she reflected none of the points she’d supposedly been taught. I called her in for a one to one to see why her performance had dropped.
“Clare, I asked you to call by because I’m concerned about your marks dropping.”
“Sorry, Ms Watts, been a bit distracted.”
“Would you care to explain in what way you’ve been distracted.”
“No I wouldn’t, it’s no one’s business but mine.”
“Okay, but helping students get degrees is mine and you’re looking to miss out if you carry on like this.”
“’S’not the end of the world if I don’t is it?”
“No, it isn’t, but you’ll have wasted three years of your life for an opportunity that won’t happen again. Do you really want to throw that away?”
She shrugged as her response.
“You’ve produced two years of good work, what has changed?”
“I told you, it’s private.”
“So is this conversation.”
“Did you tell them when you were an undergrad you wanted to change sex?”
“No, because I didn’t let it interfere with my study.”
“Don’t tell me you got a first?”
I blushed, “Yes I did as a matter of fact.”
“I s’pose you went to a public school?”
“No, I went to a grammar school.”
“A boy’s one?”
“I don’t see why that should be relevant to this conversation, but yes I did.”
“Yeah, they give better education than mixed ones, like the poxy comprehensive I went to.”
“It got you here, didn’t it?”
“It’s hardly Oxford or bloody Cambridge is it?”
“We still have the right to award degrees and this department is beginning to get noticed.”
“You are you mean.”
“No, the university is–the mammal survey is attracting attention from all round the world.”
“Hardly Russell Group is it?”
“No it isn’t, but then would you have got into a Russell Group university?”
“Doubt it.”
“And if you had would your little problem have sunk you like it seems to have done here?”
“I’m not sunk–yet?”
“Clare, a rerun of the Titanic and the iceberg would have a better chance of surviving than you do at this moment.”
She stood up and went to the door.
“Don’t you have any regrets about this?”
“Course I fuckin’ do,” she snapped back, her eyes red with tears.
“If you won’t let me, I can’t help you.”
“What d’you care, except for your poxy statistics.”
“Believe it or not I do care. I believe passionately in education because education is how we change the world permanently. Revolution by violence is always a failure in the long run.”
“Like the Americans?” she teased.
“Yeah, like them–look at the mess they’re in, they can’t even spell centre or colour properly.”
“Even in the Ivy League?”
“Not since agent orange, no.” She looked at my dead pan expression then smirked. The smirk became a snort and then she laughed.
“You’re crazy, aren’t you?”
“It helps, especially when faced by several hundred spotty yoofs who have only come while they work out a way to beat the benefits system.”
“I thought you cared?”
“I’m coming to that. Because I care, I try to convert them to understanding the joy of learning, and applying that learning to improve their own lot and that of the planet.”
“So we can be knee deep in dormice?”
“Damn, you’ve exposed my plan–world domination by dormice.”
“You really are crazy.”
I shrugged, “But harmless except when I know students are performing below their abilities.”
“Oh back to that are we?”
“We never left it. Now what’s the problem?”
“I told you...”
“No you didn’t tell me, and if you expect to get out of here alive, you’d better spill and quickly. I have others to torture yet.”
“Okay, you bitch, I’ve got a baby and it’s causing me problems–my previous sitter left town, okay? Satisfied, now?” She burst into tears and rose to go to the door.
“Clare, sit down.” Amazingly she did as I ordered. “Now let me get this straight, you’re having to miss lectures and your course work because you haven’t got a baby sitter?”
Tears flowing down her face dripped even heavier when she nodded.
“Is that the only problem?”
“Yes.”
“What have you got a boy or a girl?”
“A little girl.”
“What’s her name?”
“Daisy.”
I smiled, “If I give you a name will you go and see her?”
“What about?”
“Child minding–she is accredited.”
“Okay.”
I checked the address in my diary and wrote it down for her.
She took it and read it. “I doubt I’ll be able to afford her, but she’s just down the road from my rooms.”
“I know, and you can afford her.”
“How d’you know?”
“The university subsidises her.”
“Straight up?”
“Yes, you’ll need to tell her I sent you.” I handed her one of my cards.
“I’m sorry I spoke about your–you know...”
“My change of gender?”
She nodded now blushing.
“So am I, as I don’t see it’s relevant to anyone but me.”
“And you still got a first.”
“Yeah, but Sussex isn’t Russell Group either.”
She laughed. Then said, “You’re a good woman, Ms Watts, aren’t you?”
“Am I? You might beg to differ when I explain once you get yourself organised with Daisy, I want you to rewrite and resubmit the last three assignments and I’ll remark them.”
“What’s the point?”
“If you improve them beyond recognition and get sixty or more marks for them, if you can do the same in your exams, you’ll scrape a 2.2. A good basic degree, but a degree nonetheless.”
“Don’t know if I can be bothered.”
“Well if you can’t, why should I?”
“Because you care?”
“Yeah, because I care. Now get your arse out of my office and get Daisy planted with Christine Cherrington and be prepared to work till you drop.”
“I dunno...”
“Clare, that was an order, it’s not for discussion. Now go.”
I came back to the current time, she actually did knuckle down and she got a 2.2 and that enabled her to get a decent job a few months later. She actually took time to write and thank me for caring. I don’t get many letters like that, so that’s in my private file–one of my treasures.
Now, back to this marking–Geez, this idiot can’t spell photosynthesis–or ecology–oh they did manage to spell their name correctly, but only just. They have writing that looks like it was done by a baboon with Parkinsons after sticking the nib up a hippopotamus’s nose. Arrrgh!
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Comments
I do like the last sentence.
My imagination's running riot!
S.
Hippopotamus for an ink well?
My goodness, what a word picture!
I've only just been reading one of your epic episodes from almost 6 years ago. I've been wondering how she came on her first child, Julie was it not?
I shall report back directly. :)
Gwendolyn
I do not know if you were ever apprised of the situation, but you, Bev and Susan Brown were mention in chapter 4 of "Katia in Afghanistan". I prolly forgot to tell you.
First child
The first child was Meems followed by Trish. Hope this didn't spoil your re-read of this epic saga.
Hugs, Sarah Ann
So why do they always drag that into it?
People will always try to find any purchase they can get on you to hurt you if they can. That woman obviously did a stupid thing and got knocked up before finishing university and she did not even do due diligence to find help. A 2.2 does not sound like a great GPA, especially if 4 is 'perfect'
Kim
cathy cares...
probably too much. but that's why we love her.
Nice little interlude
and a chance to have peek behind the scene's of Cathys university life, Clare was very lucky, Not every tutor would be concerned enough to take a student on one side and delve into the reasons behind her low marks.
But then Cathy is no ordinary tutor , Not for her the strict marking structure of some of her other colleagues, For Cathy its all about flexibility both in her University life and at home, As anyone with children will tell you its very easy to tell your children this is the plan for the day, Only too find five minutes later one of the children is poorly and you need to change everything very quickly... Maybe what faced Clare was not quite the same , But Cathy was able to show that with a litte forethought and planning Clares problem was in no way insurmountable...
Kirri
Cathy is special, part two
Cathy is indeed a special person, as is shown by this episode. Not only is she special to her family ( and Billie and Shekinah) but she is one of those extra special teachers who wants all her students to do their very best. It seems that family, and education of the university students are her primary concern at this point, and for that she is to be commended.
Well, dormice come in there somewhere, but nonetheless Cathy is someone special to her students, especially when they open up to her, as Clare did. Regardless, I think that caring instructors are very special people, all the way from pre-school thru whatever level of degree they desire to achieve. The teachers/instructors/professors are all too often overlooked by the rest of the world and they have as much to do with a child (read Teen/High School/Junior College/University Student as appropriate) developing into a responsible, caring human, as anyone, including the parents.
Cathy cares and that alone makes her special.
More kitty treats, ear scratches, tummy rubs, and whatever attention they want to my two favorite feline authors!
Don't let someone else talk you out of your dreams. How can we have dreams come true, if we have no dreams?
Katrina Gayle "Stormy" Storm
Hippopotamus Ink
Makes a change from squids and octopi I suppose. Actually I didn't know that anybody still dipped nibs in liquid ink; I thought Biro and Bic had annihilated fountain pens and achieved superpower status.
I really stuck my nose into this chapter looking for the Angharad Memorial Lecture on Dark Matter....but there it wasn't. Never mind....It was a nice chapter about a top-flight teacher and a pleasure to read. It took me back to Grammar School and the English teacher who had us reading Lord Of The Rings for Eng. Lit. in about 1956 or 7 and did the characters in class (even Galadriel). A lot of people thought he was mad, but he wasn't. He was wonderful.
And by the way, if your shit looks like Marmite you really should go and see a doctor!
Joanne
Lecturing.
Could never see myself ever being a lecturer. Probably end up being done for murder. And my writing's so bad I use capitals and print if I'm reduced to pen and ink. Thank god for 'puters' I say.
Good chapter Cathy, very entertaining and rather informative. Never had any lecturers invite me in 'for a little chat' when I was reading for my first degree but that was probably cos' I was a mature student and deemed capable of dealing with life's little problems. (As if!!!)
Still lovin' it Ang.
Bevs.
xx
Yes, there are...
Yes, there ARE teachers that don't care about their students. But, the majority do care. They care a LOT. Some don't have a clue on how to help. Some have a few clues and a few treasures have a full deck of clues and work really hard for their students. (I know, I'm married to one of that last group.) It really hurts them to watch a student fall apart. A baby can do it. The family at home can cause it. Many factors can contribute to it. Some students thrive in the stressful environment of a Uni. Some end up studying the right course of study for them. Others in the wrong place. (I was. I freely admit it today. Astrophysics was NOT the right major for me!)
Someone in the right place, at the right time, with the right thing to say/do can make all the difference in the world!
Thanks,
A2