The "A" grade

As I read my World Lit students' first papers I was happily surprised to find myself giving out A, after A, after A. I love giving A's! These papers were very well written, and they had insights into Gilgamesh that truly impressed me, causing me to consider things I hadn't thought about. I could take no credit for their exemplary writing, as I didn't teach them how to write an essay, but I did take a small amount of credit for their thorough understanding of the text.

I opened class with telling them how impressed I was with their essays and how happy I was to grant so many A's. One student replied by saying "I thought professors hated giving A's." Now I'm not sure what led him to that conclusion, but what a pity a student would think his professor would only grudgingly award an A to a deserving essay. I don't allot many A's, only because they are not earned. But when I can give an A, when the student clearly deserves an A, I am only too happy to write on their paper a nice, fat . . . . .