I do know this is partially a distortion...which is one of the reasons I came here to post about it. I've got to process it so I can move on and get to my other two classes for today. But, damn. Sometimes fighting those distortions are really, really difficult.

vw, really, who are YOU to decide what grade you deserve? He weighs all the intangibles, work on paper and enthusiasm and participation and he decides, in comparison with everyone else in the class and his exeprience and other things you aren't privy to, what grade you deserve. You have to trust his judgment on this.

vw, I think he was trying to say that you do better work if you don't have to take an incomplete--nothing more and nothing less. It's up to the professor to decide what you "deserve." Sometimes you'll get a higher grade than you think you deserve and sometimes a lower one. Your job is to do the best work you can at that particular time. That may not be the best work you're capable of, but sometimes the stars just don't align to allow that.

I just spent a half an hour on the phone, mostly on hold, to determine that the pharmacy thinks it hasn't filled my prescription and the doctor's office thinks it has. I fear I'm going to have to just go to the pharmacy and stand there until something happens.

Is this the same prof who tried to discourage you from taking incompletes in the first case (wasn't there one)? In addition to what Teppy said, could it be that this prof has his own issues with incompletes?

I did kind of pathetically say, "I do get points for getting it done, right?" And he was like, "Oh, yeah. You get tons of points for getting it done. You also get tons of points for being competent." So, that's something...

Oh, and he LOVED my paper on Internet discourse. Not that he's grading it, but it was good that he had nice things to say about it. To quote him actually, "It was cool."

vw, I think he was trying to say that you do better work if you don't have to take an incomplete--nothing more and nothing less. It's up to the professor to decide what you "deserve." Sometimes you'll get a higher grade than you think you deserve and sometimes a lower one. Your job is to do the best work you can at that particular time. That may not be the best work you're capable of, but sometimes the stars just don't align to allow that.

t nods

Ginger is very wise.

What Ginger Said.

Is this the same prof who tried to discourage you from taking incompletes in the first case (wasn't there one)? In addition to what Teppy said, could it be that this prof has his own issues with incompletes?

No, that was a different prof. I don't think this one has issues with incompletes, but who knows. I do trust his judgement. I knew the exam wasn't good, but I thought the paper was. So, that was a little disappointing. I know that not everything I write is going to be the best thing I've ever written, but it was still disappointing to hear him say there was a noticable difference.

Two night-terror-free nights in a row! Woot!

Were the exam and paper the best you could have done at that time, and under those circumstances? If so, let it go. If not, you still let it go, because not only is it over, you've passed. You are going back to school primarily to learn, and also, to get a degree. You are learning. No one is always on--not even the most together people. Everyone has down times and off times. You accomplished the job. You've learned things you didn't know before. You've exercised some inborn skill, and you've passed.

All of that is a big old YAY!