I just submitted my grades for this semester. Over time I've gotten over the guilt associated with a student who misses a higher grade by a fraction of a point. I grade each item as it comes along during the year and tally the results at the end. If I were to go back and examine each student's work again it would be difficult to be fair, I think.
As a student I used to calculate where I stood in a class before finals week. If I knew that basically no matter what I did I would still receive a B in a class, for instance, I tended to focus my studying on other classes where there was a chance of getting a better grade. There were a few times when I was surprised, in both directions, getting a better or worse grade than expected.
I don't know when I'll be teaching the population issues class again. I enjoy it and have fun teaching it. I'd like to develop a graduate level course on the same topic, perhaps geared towards the International Relations students. How can you understand current global issues if you don't understand the demographic forces at work?
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