LY #64 Unexpected Reluctance to Be Assertive

For the past 20 years I've had a policy in all my syllabi that "Any grade is negotiable."  From the very first day of every class, I let students know that I prefer that they let me know when they think I have judged them unfairly.  In the public speaking classes I actually give 5 points extra credit to students who act as lawyers for their colleagues.  I explain that arguments for higher points must be based on the criteria of the assignment and not on claims of having a difficult life or claims of hard work.  I tell them that almost every student at a community college has a hard life (and sometimes tell them stories of past students).  And I also explain that hard work is not necessarily connected to successful performance.

But even though I discourage self-disclosure of struggle, I encourage them to make sure that they are receiving appropriate grades.

Well, this week I met resistance in an unexpected site.  A young man in the military, someone whom I assumed would have no problem arguing for a higher grade, did not rise to my suggestion that he challenge me in a particular area of the assignment.  I don't want to give the particulars at this time.  Let's just say that I made a judgement call about a performance and that there was one particular area in which the student could have challenged me.  I actually encouraged him to do so and even suggested that he get another student to act as his lawyer. 

Sadly, he said, "But you're the teacher."

I replied, "That doesn't make me infallible."

And he said, "But you're very good."

Now, you may ask, "Why didn't you just go ahead and change his grade if you thought it was debatable?"   Well, just because I can see both sides of an issue doesn't mean that I don't believe my point of view is correct.  I thought I was right but wanted to see if he believed in his own performance  enough to challenge and then change my perception.  (Perception is in part a matter of negotiation.)

He did not.

I wondered after talking with him if he was confusing the structure of the classroom with the structure of the military.  Perhaps I was not being culturally sensitive.  Maybe I should check in with him.