The Waiting Room

Thanks everyone for you kind thoughts about my new medication situation. Last night, I went for dinner and drinks with GML. I am in my "last call" phase before I start the meds this weekend.

Yesterday was Meeting Day. I swear, everyone was running from meeting to meeting. I did have a meeting for CT instructors concerning a proposed grading rubric. I was not part of this committee, although I wonder if I should have.

We were asked to use the rubrics to grade sample essays from students. The first problem was that we did not have the original assignment to go with the sample.

My first thought was: Umm, how do you use rubric when you don't know what the assignment is?

Also, the assignment did not fit what the rubric was attempting to assess. The essay in question was not the same format as what the rubric was designed. The language in the rubric did not fit what was written. I would have to change the language in order to make a reasonable assessment. This rubric was way too general.

Umm, aren't rubric supposed to be narrowly tailored to fit the goals of the assignment?

Since this was just a work in progress, I would try to grade what I could and explain my concerns to the committee. No big deal.

Then, out of the blue, a farmilar voice broke the silence.

"I am sorry, but this is not the way you design a rubric. I have my doctorate in Education and I know how to design a rubric. I have spent many years designing and working on rubrics and this is no way to do it. " I can't do this. I don't think you know what you are doing."

Oh no she did-n't!

She spend five minutes arguing with two of the members of the committee, who are senior faculty. Every time someone would say "Yes, we realize that there are some problems and we will address them. But for now, just try to grade it the best way you can.", she would continue to rant.

Finally, I had to say something becuase the back and forth was going nowhere. Also, I wanted to get out of there. So I said:

"Look, I understand what a difficult task the committee has in designing this rubric. I training in rubrics, so I appreciate the effort it took to get to this point. I also understand what Bitchy Adjunct is trying to say. However, this is a work in progress, so I think we need to try to work out the kinks in a reasonable way so that we can create a viable product."

That seemed to calm the situation down. It also helped that Bitchy Adjunct had to leave because she had another meeting. I felt bad for the members of the committee. Granted, Bitchy Adjunct had a point. But, she did not have to get all "I so great and I can do this better than you." crap. it is arrogant and rude. There is a way to state a point without trying to alienate everyone and piss off the wrong people.

I can't wait for the next meeting. Too bad I won't be able to drink ahead of time.