I spent the last two days obsessing over grades, as usual. It is really the worst part of this job. A grade is inherently a judgment, and one that I do not actually wish to make. For it is a judgment based on fundamentally ludicrous criteria, and for a skill that may prove irrelevant to us all. Yet this is our system. I’m not empowered to say: I am done with this nasty business of assigning grades.
A final callout and thankyou to the staff who helped so ably this term: John, Kev, Teo, Zane. You were great.
I was starting to get comfortable with you all, with this particular class, and liking it. I will remember several of you fondly. I hope many of you gained from our shared experience, too. Maybe even learned something in addition to the math.
I also hope that some of you take to heart some of what I said in our final lecture together. Our world is in crisis, and I hope you will have more insight than I as to how to help. If you cannot figure out a way to help, try to minimize harm. And know too that there are many ways to find dignity. Take care of each other.
I hope to see some of you in Spring of 2023, when I am scheduled to teach both ecs120 (which is fun class in the spirit of ecs20) and ecs188 (which is an important class, and like no other). I am old, often weary of what we have become, and expect those classes to be my last.
With kind wishes,
phil rogaway