Zombie Negotiations

I’m at the end of my semester which is the time when students that should’ve showed up in my office months ago suddenly feel they can negotiate a different result than the one listed in my syllabus and on my grade sheet.  I’ve noticed this pattern in all my years of teaching.  I get about a handful of them right after the first test that say, sheesh, I don’t think I get this what can I do?  I get more than a handful the week before finals, when their grades are pretty much a given, saying, sheesh, I don’t think I can get this, what can you do for me?

There’s an implicit contract between me and my students and a good deal of it is stated in the syllabus which all of  them get at the beginning of the semester.  Over the years, it’s grown to being a pamphlet of sorts.  Much of this has to do with either accreditation or legal requirements (like what to do if you’re disabled and need help with things).  A lot of it is me trying to be absolutely, positively clear that we agree on the expectations we have in this class. I spend the entire first day going over all of these things and they all nod in agreement, don’t ask many questions, and hope they can leave early.

Why do I feel like the Fed is waving a syllabus in front of a few recalcitrant banks over the results of the so-called stress test?   Are they asking why didn’t you come to us sooner when you had a problem?  How much of a softie is the Fed going to be when a few of them want to renegotiate what it means to get an A,B,C, D, or F?

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