As of yesterday, the summer semester is finished!  Whereas most people mark the beginning of each new year on January 1st, for me the end of and beginning of the teaching year marks the boundary between each passing year.  This summer was the first time I got to teach a proper university course with GPA implications, and I’m happy to be able to say that the students were all great to work with.  As my group of guys each finished their exams, they shook my hand and thanked me for me for teaching them.  I, in turn, thanked them for their hard work and efforts over the last two months.  I’d like to say this was some sort of extraordinary event, but it happened with other teachers as well.  The students aren’t shy to let you know they appreciate your efforts at the University.

Students aren’t shy about advocating for higher grades either.  The day after the final it was time to play the middle east version of let’s make a deal. Also known as teacher, walla.    I had a number of visitors who came in a day after the exam looking get their letter grade adjusted up to the next level.  After my student meetings were finished, I was still getting emails requesting extra marks so that pesky B could become a B+ or so that D could become a D+. My students are marvellous negotiators and natural salespeople. Three of students who visited me actually succeeded here because as we reviewed their exams, some errors were found that when corrected, resulted in a higher letter grade.  However, these were the exceptions.  You simply cannot bump up a student’s grade because they want it bumped up.

As much as I may want to help a student, there are some lines you do not cross. Ethical issues aside, once you start bumping grades up for the sake of ‘helping’ a student, you’ll find your classes populated with students looking for that kind of help who are typically less disciplined about their academics than others. At any rate, I am proud of my students and pleased with their efforts during this past summer.

Now that the summer is finished, I’m doing the 4th most popular Doha-based activity as outlined in the Time Out Doha magazine.  Namely, I’m getting out of Doha. That’s right, according to the magazine, one of the most popular past time in Doha is leaving Doha!  I finished work yesterday at around 2pm and I was in the airport at 4:30.  That’s about as quick a turn around as one could hope for. This year I’ll be spending my vacation in Newfoundland for two weeks and then it’s back to the sandbox for another year.