Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Finished Again

My exam is written and printed out, and awaiting one last read-through when I am fresh in the morning.

I can't say that I have any feelings about it.  I have no idea whether I've passed this time.

In real life, if you turn in a paper that's totally off the wall, most professors will contact you and suggest a conversation to straighten things out and then a rewrite.

In one of my seminary classes, we had two papers, worth 25% and 75% of the grade. My first one apparently revealed complete cluelessness.  The professor decided not to grade it, and that my entire grade would rest on the final.  Thankfully, I pulled that one off.

I have friends who have erroneously printed off early drafts and turned them in as finals, and been able to rectify the situation.

But on these exams, graded anonymously somewhere out there in Presby-land, no such breaks exist.

This exam was, in my estimation, quite difficult.  In real life, presented with similar challenges of translation and interpretation, you would seek a little help from your friends.  For the exam - no discussion, no debate, no collegial engagement.   Not at all the real life the testers seek to emulate.

Oh well.  Four days of my life and quite a bit of money.  I passed or I didn't.








7 comments:

  1. Courage, fortitude, self-discipline, faith, hope. It took all of those and more to do this exam. I'm praying it's a major PASS, and that you will subsequently be freed to get on with the next thing in store for you--ministry. Hope you feel some moment of relief and decompression in an otherwise heavy-laden week. Thinking of you and your family every day.
    Hugs and love, Karen

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  2. praying continues. I so agree with the nature of these exams which are not at all a reflection of what we would necessarily say or do in ministry, lacking the context of a community with which we would engage dialogue. oh well. I really hope you passed this time and can leave it behind.

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  3. Sending congratulations on finishing - there should be credit for that - and prayers of support that you pass. xoxo

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  4. You passed the test that counts in the long run. Whether or not you passed the test presented here in the temporal realm, that's out of your hands.

    My guess is, you will be able to move forward on both fronts.

    you've sure put in a lot of hard work, and dedication, and that counts for a lot in my world. :)

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