Just When You Think They Haven't Heard A Word

It's been a marathon week of grading exams, critical papers and portfolios. I'm still not finished, but close, very close. I learned years ago that I can predict what grades 98% of my students will get and this was true once again. They're pretty consistent, students. Of course, there are always those few who come to life during the exam and produce the quality and quantity of work that I only wish they would have all semester. With the exam worth 20% of the semester grade, these students can really raise their grades. Naturally, there are always a few who do worse and that affects their semester grades adversely. I don't care about the grades, I love to read what they have to say. Students can be so honest and forthcoming at times and I've found that exams are one of those times.