Deadspin Article on UNC Athlete's Final Paper

[RammerJammer91]

Don't know if any of you have seen this, but apparently this "student-athlete" got an A- on this paper. There are just no words to describe this...http://deadspin.com/this-unc-athlet...ource=deadspin_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow

 

[tide96]

I remember having a web design class at Alabama where each week you had to turn in your project for the week and it counted for 25% of your grade. After the second week, the teacher said that he doesn't even check them so as long as you turned in a disk (people still used 3.5" floppies back then) you got full credit for the assignment.

 

[lelandhorne]

Shoulda double spaced it and broken it into a few more paragraphs.

 

[Al A Bama]

I would not have given that higher than a "C-" in a Kindergarden class. If my first grade granddaughter had done it, I would have bumped it up to a "C".

 

[sabanball]

"You may do that" - Rosa Parks

My new favorite quote.

 

[Catfish]

Ignoring the TERRIBLE quality of the "writing", is that the whole paper? That one paragraph? Surely the pages behind that one are more of the same paper. Please tell me that's right...

 

[CajunCrimson]

I have to be honest -- I really expected it to be worse than that.....

How sad is that?

 

[PacadermaTideUs]

I have to be honest -- I really expected it to be worse than that.....

How sad is that?

Me too.

 

[bamanut_aj]

"You may do that" - Rosa Parks

My new favorite quote.

Dear Penthouse:


..........,

'You may do that', said Rosa


........


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[bamadp]

I have to be honest -- I really expected it to be worse than that.....

How sad is that?

What's really sad is he could probably be a journalist these days...hahahaha

 

[jthomas666]

DELETED

Keep the political commentary on Non-Sports, please.

 

[tusks_n_raider]

I've never really had much respect for the grading of 'papers' at any level in any class because it is so subjective. Of course this is an extreme example of a deserved 'F' instead of a given 'A-' but it's still subjective.

I always enjoyed the classes where your grade on tests were the result of black and white rules...like Math and Science. Answers to questions in those subjects were either right or wrong with no gray area for interpretation or favoritism by a teacher.

In my freshman year of college I had a Literature class where a buddy of mine swore he was getting bad grades(C-to C+) just because the teacher disliked him. I usually at least received an A for my papers and to be honest I thought my friend's papers should have at least been B's at the worst.

So we did a little experiment where one week we both wrote our papers but swapped the names just to test the teacher. I received a B+(which was really my friends paper) with the note 'not up to your usual standards' and he received a C+(which was my paper) with no note at all.

I was shocked that he was pretty much right. He had been writing papers in the 'B' range and getting C's for them and for my paper (which should have been anywhere from a B+ to A) she gave him a 'C+' anyway JUST because his name was on it.

Any respect I had left for teachers was gone at that point. They really do have free reign to just give grades out good or bad with no real rhyme or reason.

So my point is that teachers shoulder a LOT of the blame for instances like this UNC situation.

 

[RTR91]

I've never really had much respect for the grading of 'papers' at any level in any class because it is so subjective. Of course this is an extreme example of a deserved 'F' instead of a given 'A-' but it's still subjective.

I always enjoyed the classes where your grade on tests were the result of black and white rules...like Math and Science. Answers to questions in those subjects were either right or wrong with no gray area for interpretation or favoritism by a teacher.

In my freshman year of college I had a Literature class where a buddy of mine swore he was getting bad grades(C-to C+) just because the teacher disliked him. I usually at least received an A for my papers and to be honest I thought my friend's papers should have at least been B's at the worst.

So we did a little experiment where one week we both wrote our papers but swapped the names just to test the teacher. I received a B+(which was really my friends paper) with the note 'not up to your usual standards' and he received a C+(which was my paper) with no note at all.

I was shocked that he was pretty much right. He had been writing papers in the 'B' range and getting C's for them and for my paper (which should have been anywhere from a B+ to A) she gave him a 'C+' anyway JUST because his name was on it.

Any respect I had left for teachers was gone at that point. They really do have free reign to just give grades out good or bad with no real rhyme or reason.

So my point is that teachers shoulder a LOT of the blame for instances like this UNC situation.

No they don't.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[tusks_n_raider]

No they don't.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

No they don't what? Shoulder the Blame? When a paper like that is given an A- that is a teacher just giving out an unearned, unjust, unfair grade. No matter the reasons they do give grades much higher and much lower than deserved to students for reasons other than merit. It's mostly in classes that allow for subjective grading but nevertheless it happens everywhere.

 

[RTR91]

No they don't what? Shoulder the Blame? When a paper like that is given an A- that is a teacher just giving out an unearned, unjust, unfair grade. No matter the reasons they do give grades much higher and much lower than deserved to students for reasons other than merit. It's mostly in classes that allow for subjective grading but nevertheless it happens everywhere.

That grade wasn't because the teacher liked the student. It's because it was in UNC's phony major for its athletes. That's why teachers don't shoulder the blame for this. The UNC Afro-American studies major consisted of only athletes. It was used to keep them eligible.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[crimsonaudio]

That grade wasn't because the teacher liked the student. It's because it was in UNC's phony major for its athletes. That's why teachers don't shoulder the blame for this. The UNC Afro-American studies major consisted of only athletes. It was used to keep them eligible.

'Just doing my job' doesn't cut it, imo - the teacher agreed to 'teach' this and the university allowed this garbage to occur - both are to blame.

 

[RTR91]

'Just doing my job' doesn't cut it, imo - the teacher agreed to 'teach' this and the university allowed this garbage to occur - both are to blame.

I'm not meaning to imply the teacher is clean. I mean the teacher isn't doing something all by his/herself like the story Tusk gave.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[IMALOYAL1]

I get very nervous when things like grades in classes specifically designed to keep the athlete from failing in college are discussed as if our University is immune to the same thing.

Until an athlete is allowed to claim his sport as his major this is going to be the norm rather than an outlier. The colleges that take the most stringent stance on an athlete taking and passing classes, that even students who have prepared well thru high school and are at the very least average or above in intelligence, are not going to compete at a level most Alabama fans demand from our top men's sports teams.

This is not just a college phenomenon. It is going on at the high school level as well.

 

[jthomas666]

I've never really had much respect for the grading of 'papers' at any level in any class because it is so subjective. Of course this is an extreme example of a deserved 'F' instead of a given 'A-' but it's still subjective.

I always enjoyed the classes where your grade on tests were the result of black and white rules...like Math and Science. Answers to questions in those subjects were either right or wrong with no gray area for interpretation or favoritism by a teacher.

In my freshman year of college I had a Literature class where a buddy of mine swore he was getting bad grades(C-to C+) just because the teacher disliked him. I usually at least received an A for my papers and to be honest I thought my friend's papers should have at least been B's at the worst.

So we did a little experiment where one week we both wrote our papers but swapped the names just to test the teacher. I received a B+(which was really my friends paper) with the note 'not up to your usual standards' and he received a C+(which was my paper) with no note at all.

I was shocked that he was pretty much right. He had been writing papers in the 'B' range and getting C's for them and for my paper (which should have been anywhere from a B+ to A) she gave him a 'C+' anyway JUST because his name was on it.

Any respect I had left for teachers was gone at that point. They really do have free reign to just give grades out good or bad with no real rhyme or reason.

So my point is that teachers shoulder a LOT of the blame for instances like this UNC situation.

You make a lot of assumptions in concluding the teacher's motivation, and then use that conclusion to tar and feather all teachers who must use a subjective scale.

 

[CB4]

Looks like to me this student would qualify as Department Chair in Sociology at the Barn.