I just knew something was going to go wrong with that miserable Biology professor and my grade. Monday morning I ploughed my way through a zillion links at the Wuthering Heights CC webpage to get to the final grades for the semester. To my utter dismay there was a B listed for Biology.
"Son of a bitch!" I said bitterly and uncharacteristically. My office mates looked startled. "She gave me a B! She gave me a goddamned B!" My blood pressure went through the roof.
I was so upset I could barely speak when I phoned John to share the news. I mostly breathed fire and sputtered invective. I swore there was no way I had earned a B. No way. A screwup on the professor's part, I was certain of it. He agreed it was worth checking into, and made many comforting suggestions. I thought about calling the Math and Science Department all that day, but every time I started to do it I got so steamed I could hardly see straight. I decided to wait until I could control myself. There really are some benefits to being older. These days I'm much better at knowing when to read someone the riot act and when to be diplomatic. I couldn't possibly gain anything by expressing my anger at the professor or her department, so I took a day to cool off.
But every time I thought of it I turned red all over again. Oh man, was I mad. I had all A's going into the final, and I knew I'd done extremely well on that. It was an open book final, for crying out loud. She had made mistakes all semester, saying one thing one week and the opposite the next. She was unreliable, apathetic, and careless. I just could not accept that B.
Today I called the department and asked to reach the professor. When they advised me she wasn't teaching the summer session or the fall session I explained earnestly and politely that I was sure there had been a mistake with my grade. Could they please contact the professor on my behalf? The lady promised to leave her a message, and said I had a full year to contest the grade should there be a delay in the professor getting back to me. I was a bit morose after I got off the phone, figuring I was in for a long, unhappy wait for a resolution, but I'd done what I could do.
The professor called me back in two hours. Oops, she'd made an error in her calculations, I had indeed earned an A. She would take care of getting the grade changed this week. She was sorry.
I got an A! In science! Two sciences! I am vindicated, and thrilled beyond belief, and very proud of myself. You know, 25 years ago I probably would have taken that B and not challenged the professor. Now I have a solid sense of looking out for number one, and a bulldog tenacity when it comes to people in authority giving me answers I don't like or disagree with. I'm so happy I followed up instead of merely stewing over it.
I got a 4.0 for the semester, and I deserved it.
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