The Basics

 

 

Should I even be taking this course?

 

Here is an interesting article on choosing a course of study.

 

 

Is this course going to be hard?

 

Yes. These are the average course grades for classes I teach. Afraid of hard courses? Read this article about what humans can achieve when they are committed to success.

 

 

Is this course going to be interesting?

 

Yes. Students regularly comment that they enjoy both the lectures and the tie-backs to “real world” problems and events. TEQs tend not to reflect the quality of teaching (something that students, on average, have neither the experience nor expertise to evaluate). What they do reflect is the instructors’ entertainment value. If you want to see how entertaining I am, look here.

 

 

Are you a hard grader?

 

Yes. These are the average course grades for classes I teach.

 

 

Are you a fair grader?

 

I dislike the word fair because it is too often used to hide the fact that the speaker is pretending to mean just while, in fact, meaning equal. So, let me rephrase: “Am I a just grader?” Yes. Warning: Following Aquinas’ definition of justice as “giving each his due,” just means neither “easy,” nor “you get chances for extra credit,” nor “effort counts,” nor “I take into account other demands on your time.” Just means “the grade you earn reflects the quantity of material you master.”

 

 

Will you be available to answer my questions?

 

I am available almost 24/7 via office hours, e-mail, AIM, and Skype You do not need an appointment to come to my office hours — just show up.

 

 

What grade can I expect in this class?

 

Your grade is very much a function of the quality time you spend studying outside of class. The following matrix will give you a (very) rough idea of what to expect. Match up the level of student you consider yourself to be (across the top) with the hours per week you intend to spend studying for this course (down the side). The body of the matrix gives you the letter grade you can likely anticipate. Of course, this is no guarantee — each student’s results will vary. The point of this chart is to adjust your expectations regarding the amount of time you need to spend studying for this course.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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