Maths 2

Folks,

last week, i have finished marking the examination paper for my students, and all, yes ALL of my students passed the subject that i am teaching, that is, WQD 10202 : Technical Mathematics 2.

I now wish to deal why i passed all of my students. First of all, it is of utmost importance that i defined what constitutes a pass for my students. To pass my subjects, my students need to strive hard and fulfil the course requirements. Now, some of the courses have a tough marking or assessment system while some others are lenient. However, the lecturer should have the discretion when evaluatina nd grading the students.

The lecturer should be impartial, fair, unbias and transparent when giving marks. The lecturer should not be streotyped and favours the students who he or she likes the most.

A note of caution: it is NOT wrong in law to pass all of your students unless the students himself wishes to fail that particular subject.

Now, what then is my criteria for passing my subject? Now, note that i use the word "pass" not "excel". To pass my subject, one must have:

First, a proper attitude. Now, no matter how smart a student is, if he has a poor attitude, then he deserve to fail. The main reason is simple. The purpose for the establishment of a university is to produce a knowledgeable, ethical and well-rounded human-capital. A well-rounded students needs to have a proper attitude prior to be employed in any company. Poor attitude will result in poor performance during their career. Thus, it is belief that the university is a place and the right channel to groom these students. Therefore, any students having poor-attitude and being rude to me will deserve a failure, no matter what. What then is a proper attitude? These includes, but are not limited to: attendance to class, communication skills, handing the assigned tasks and being able to communicate politely to the lecturer.

Second, a sound knowledge of the particular subject matter. It is no use to have a worker who is dumb and stupid. Thus, all of my students are expected to have a sound knowledge of a course content. Those who does not have a sound knowledge of my subject deserve to fail. I can't simply pass the students who knows nothing about my course, can i? For example, in my subject (i.e. WQD 10202), the students must be able to define a complex number, perform the derivative and integration of mathematical functions. If the students fail to do simple thing such as this, then they deserve to fail and repeat the course until they can manage to at least, meet these criteria.

Third, submitting all the assigned tasks. Students are expected to submit all of the assigned tasks and where the students fail to submit the assigned task without valid reasons, he or she will be given a zero for that particular tasks. Unauthorised late submissions will be penalized 20% for each day late.

Thus, all of the above three criteria makes the students pass for my course.

Now, how to ace my subject (to get an A)? Well the students need to perform to their best standard in the test and examination, participates actively during the class and have a proper attitude.

Will i have mercy on those who seems to fail my course? My answer is simple: the students can pass this subject ONLY if they consult me. This is because, if the student come and see me about their academic performance, then that shows me that he or she is worried about his grade. When they are worried about their grade, that simply means that they care about their studies and the only thing that i can do for them is to give them extra assignments which only elevates their original carry mark to a minimum of passing mark (or passing grade). Those who does not care about their subject will simply fail. Because why? Because they could not care less about their grade.

It is in my opinion, unethical and immoral for a lecturer to simply fail their students who seek to pass the subject without giving proper reasoning. I believe that everyone should be given the opportunity to pass the subject only if they deserve it. For those who doesn't deserve it, then there are still opportunities for them to pass, but they shall be given the opportunity in the next semester: that is to repeat the subject in the next semester.

Now, i would like to congratulate the following students of mine who obtained A- for my subject:


What have they done to pass this subject? They have performed to their best in all of the assigned coursework and they did beautifully in the final exam.

Well, most of my students got a "D" and i think that they deserve it. Sorry to say this, but i really think that they do deserve to pass, but certainly they DO NOT deserve to get anything above "D".

And another note. It seems to me that some people do not accept the view that i hold. Now, it is plainly simple: you take care of your students and let me care about mine. Do not poke your nose in someone else's ass. You may question me on why i pass all of my students, but you may not judge whether i did wrongly or rightly. My students has certainly meet the above criteria in passing the subject. I have marked them with transparency and leniency and have taken into account some of their pleas and mitigating factors.

And i do not hold this view: "a high quality lecturer has a balanced proportion of passing and failing students". This view has no place other than in the bin or down the toilet. If the students pass, then they are most certainly deserve to pass. If the students fail, then many factors, reasons and things that needs to be taken into account before failing them.

To me, it doesn't matter how many students passed and how many students failed. What matters is, how many of them DESERVE to pass and how many of the deserve to fail. In the end, the students are solely responsible for their own learning.