You walk in prepared for one of the maybe three tests you'llhave for the semester in your class. You've studied for hours andturned down some very tempting invites from the social scene, butyou know it was worth it -- you know your stuff. The test getspassed out and sits in front of you.
In horror, you scream because this is not what you had inmind.
It's happened before, and it will happen again -- departmentinvolvement. In almost all foreign language classes, you have to beprepared for the untimely involvement of the department as theyattempt to shove an exam in front of you that they think you shouldbe prepared for -- yet, you're not.
Whose fault is that, really? Is it yours or the somewhatlethargic pace of the class?
Teachers are not to blame because most of them understand thatthey haven't covered the material. It's merely the academic Gestapo-- the department -- that loves to interfere in the classrooms ofinnocent students everywhere.
Last week, we had an untimely test that covered everything inour French book up to Ch. 17. Considering we were on Ch. 14 andabout to begin on 15, the uproar was not long in coming.
"We haven't studied this stuff," we screamed. "This is notfair!"
Our teacher threw up her hands in innocence and told us that thetest had come ... from the department! It was actually a midtermtest department officials wanted us to take, but since we had beenpre-emptive and taken our exam before spring break, we got to takeanother.
The teacher promised secret concessions to our pleas and saidshe would make sure to tell our fascist department heads that thetest they gave us would only count as a test, not our midterm.
When has it ever been OK for people who have no clue where ourclass has progressed to choose to test our knowledge? Has thedepartment decided that comprehension is no longer a concern, butthe amount of material covered is key?
My class members acted quickly in communicating their concernsto the teacher. One woman went so far as to go to the departmenthead to complain. In the end, our case was won.
Departments choose to get involved when it's least expected.When it comes down to it though, the departments may act like theyrule the world and command the power of the cosmos, but they hardlyhave the guts to stick to their guns when confronted by a mob ofangry students whose grades have just been tainted.
So get on your soap boxes and bellow out your anger andfrustration. Let them know you won't take your undeserved bad testgrade lying down. Just think about all the hours you spent studyingthe apparently wrong material and the parties you didn't go to.That should keep you motivated.
