Grades don't define your flight path

​Dear full fledged Biospherians and BIO 431 alums,

Grades have been entered in Genie and the semester comes to an end.  I have an out of office message that is kind of funny about this that will be up until tomorrow. If you send even a test email, you should get a copy.

Congratulations again to those of you who graduated yesterday!!!

This is such a bitter-sweet moment for me.  Although you might not have liked the class, I loved it.  I was inspired by most everyone by your stories and your engagement in class.  And, your responses to my "good afternoon!" filled my heart.  

The nice notes that many of you sent to me fill me up because they make it feel like I made a positive difference in your life.  In the end, doing so defines success for a teacher

Please remember that grades only represent your work or understanding of material or whether your work met the expectations of one person (your teacher).  Both of those aspects are strongly affected by what is going on outside of class in your life, how your brain is wired, and how much you are interested in the subject.  Grades are not a reflection of who you are as a person and your potential to make a difference in the world.  Remember that! It is important.

I had to take cartography as a freshman forestry major.  I received my only D in my life in that course. My brain is wired in a way that I have a hard time transferring a three dimensional object onto a two dimensional piece of paper. And, back then, people had to draw engineering diagrams and maps by hand (not very useful skills now), which required having very neat handwriting and drawing skills. I have neither. The teacher in that class made me feel like a worthless human being because I did poorly in his class.  When I received my PhD from Yale, I had lots of vision about going to in his office and shoving that degree into his face and letting him the loss of self confidence from his stupid course almost cost me my whole academic career.

So, I worry that our society puts so much emphasis on grades, that it creates so much angst, preventing people from feeling safe enough to engage with the material and figure out where their passions are. Angst about grades can destroy people's self-confidence because our culture makes it feel like your worth is equivalent to your academic success.

In this class, I learned that all of you are very talented and so many of you have amazing grit and determination which will take you very far if you let it. And, the compassion the whole class showed each other and me, tells me that I was lucky to interact with such great people  

So, something I learned after 61 years of life is that academic success will probably not ultimately define your value as a person (at least it didn't for me).  As I was sitting in my office one weekend afternoon doing something with one of my courses, I got an earworm (a song that gets stuck in one's head) for Jewel's song "Hands" (maybe before your time). The refrain in that song is "in the end, only kindness matters".  It was a great earworm to have. The world needs a lot more of it. And, it can take you very far.

To end our time together, I share below a blog I wrote about the end of the semester. Don't feel compelled to read it. But, it will give you a sense of the end of a semester to a professor who is inspired by students.
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The academic rhythm is beautiful, but it has its melancholy moments

The last day of classes each semester is just bittersweet.

For fifteen weeks every student I teach (whether it is 80 students this semester, or around 200 in the Spring) becomes part of a metaphorical extended family. I spend as many hours a week as a provost and dean working (60-80 hours) to teach the best that I can, and engage with every single student, trying to meet them where they are so they can reach their full potential in my classes. In my older age, I had to come full circle to see teaching being a far more rewarding activity than senior university administration.

And, although I still am intellectually inspired by mine and others' research, the stories I told myself regarding the importance of my research to the world seem now to have been a bit hyperbolic.

In the universe of college teaching, 15 week semesters are the defined lifetime. I watch students (and me) grow, struggle, hurt, and hopefully experience joy in learning as we mature together. And, then, suddenly, just as trust is solidified with as many students as possible, the rhythm of learning expectations gets in sync, and when my engagement with students ignites parental like pride and intense parental like worry, the semester ends. Then for the next couple of weeks, I am stranded on a beach, mourning, as students drift away into the sea as the tide ebbs.

Yet, before I know it, and without warning, even though I know it is coming, a new group of students will envelop me like sea water envelops a beach grass during a hurricane, and then the storm will subside, and the 15 week cycle will start again.

The UNCG students I have come to know are an amazing, compassionate, trustworthy, authentic, unentitled bunch with grit, determination, and heartfelt appreciation for being noticed and cared about. So, I actually care about the life stories of these special people. I can only hope they will continue to share their biographies, and that their biographies will become a source of fascination and celebration for many.

I will end where I started because the academic rhythm is an indeterminate loop...

The academic rhythm is beautiful, but it has its melancholy moments

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Take care of yourself this holiday season. And, make sure to let yourself experience some joy, even if you don't feel joyful.

Please stay in touch

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