# Participation grades



## laifox (Sep 30, 2014)

anybody else ever get completely frustrated with the fact that so many teachers grade you on participation? which usually, in my experience, involves having to speak and be present in class discussions?

this is probably one of my biggest problem areas, and i wish teachers would be more receptive of the fact that some people just aren't comfortable joining classroom discussion... like, it's not my fault that trying to jump into classroom discussions makes me incredibly anxious, so why should grade have to suffer because of it???

*tl;dr* schools aren't conducive to social phobias and it sucks.


----------



## Lonelygirl29 (Sep 29, 2014)

Yes it's very frustrating! Most of my uni classes have between 10-20% of the final grade based on class participation  I usually end up doing well on the written assessments, so participation drags my mark down. As I'm nearing the end of my degree, I get a lot more choice in my classes, so now I pick the ones without participation marks.


----------



## xoblackwidowx7 (Aug 10, 2012)

I do! It is so frustrating that my teacher changed the participation points to 15%. It really is not fair because not everyone can speak up in class and it makes harder for those that can't :/


----------



## laifox (Sep 30, 2014)

See i wish they would at least tell me which ones make participation part of the grade. I don't find that out until I'm in the classes...

It's really not fair. And I find that professors are not accepting of the explanation "well, i have a hard time speaking up," and tbqh, i don't feel comfortable enough to explain my anxiety to most of them. so i just end up feeling stupid and staying quiet.


----------



## Imbored21 (Jun 18, 2012)

It sucks, but why go to school if you can't speak? You will never get anywhere in life without that skill.


----------



## LanaB (Oct 4, 2014)

I hate participation grades. Only 2 of my current classes have them, and they're worth like 10% of my overall grade. I think it's so unnecessary, but some people like them cause they think it's 'easy points'. I never talk during class; I prefer to just sit and take notes. I'm a nursing major, so luckily I don't have to take many discussion based courses (such as english, communications, e.t.c)
My friend from HS goes to Wash. U and he said that some of his lectures have like 600/700 students, so they don't have any participation grades and don't have to show up all the time.


----------



## Juschill (Jul 25, 2014)

participation is so stupid like , B**tch i showed up to class thats good enough.


----------



## Dylan2 (Jun 3, 2012)

Imbored21 said:


> It sucks, but why go to school if you can't speak? You will never get anywhere in life without that skill.


This is a little blunt but accurate. If you can't participate in class, what kind of job are you expecting to get after your studies? Maybe you could work with counsellors at your college to find a way to participate. Start small. I find it's easier to speak in class if I've been to the professor's office to sort of "break the ice."


----------



## Remnant of Dawn (Feb 22, 2012)

I hated that in high school. Big lecture halls in college courses are the best thing ever though, because in a class with 300-400 people they can't really expect any sort of participation!


----------



## BackToThePast (Aug 31, 2012)

I've had my fair share of *****ing about participation grades. Pretty much ran out of juice for that one.

What sucks though is that it's usually the classes with participation grades that are easier to learn and remember the course material, as much as I hate to admit it.


----------



## inthewater (Mar 1, 2014)

I try to avoid professors who grade heavily on participation and/or presentations. I check them out online, etc., to see how they grade. I cannot deal with it. My feeling is that if I show up, do my work, and show that I understand, then I have earned my grade. It's my money, too. 

Last semester I had a professor who said that 1/3 of our final grade would be based on DAILY participation. I thought it was ridiculous to assign that much weight to participation. Well, I sucked it up and assumed that I would get a lower grade with her because I never volunteered. And she only called on me twice over the semester. My final grade was an A-. I guess the minus was for never speaking, but at least she was more than fair with her final grade.

In high school I was always picked on by teachers for being quiet. It's who I was then, and I still am "the quiet one." One of my high school teachers loved me, but constantly picked on me for being shy. In his case, he liked me and wanted to know what I had to say. He thought I was smart. And while I appreciated his feelings, I did not appreciate being picked on in front of the class. It does not help people with SA to make fun of their SA.

Being quiet is not a character flaw or a sign of stupidity. I wish that more people would shut up and realize that.


----------



## Three Nines Fine (Apr 15, 2014)

I don't mind presentations, but I don't like being told to get into a group and discuss something. Rarely does anyone have anything worthwhile to say and what's said only lasts about a minute. Then we just sit in silence or struggle through clunky "so what's your major" conversation. That's when I take a long bathroom break.


----------



## BAH (Feb 12, 2012)

You're going to have to learn to deal with it


----------



## keithjm (Apr 25, 2014)

I had so many grades dragged down for two reasons. 1. No one to do homework and review assignments with. So many average students did better than me because they had help via their social connections. 2. Participation grades being low or almost zero. Overall I lost at least one letter grade-while working harder than the others. And of course, they got the job offers--they had higher grades and social contacts.


----------



## Three Nines Fine (Apr 15, 2014)

Amon said:


> You're going to have to learn to deal with it


Whhyyyyyyy so small?


----------



## Willow Sky (Oct 4, 2014)

Like the majority of us, I hate talking in class. When the teacher picks on me, my voice goes all weird and I start internally freaking out. I get so nervous when the teacher is asking a lot of questions, and I know that sooner or later, I'm going to get called on. I also dislike paired discussions, when I have to awkwardly turn to the person beside me and discuss whatever. I never have anything decent to say, so I'll just let them do the talking, interjecting the occasional 'yeah' or nod of agreement where appropriate. Once they're done (which is usually pretty quickly) we kind of just sit there, as awkward as can be. My awkwardness rubs off on other people... People are always awkward around me, because they know nothing about me, have nothing to say to me.
I recognise that the ability to vocalise your ideas, and basically, just talk, is an important life skill, but it's an important life skill that I've never had, and never will have.


----------



## Cysos (Oct 10, 2014)

you're all lucky. where I live the participation is worth 50% of the grade.


----------



## llodell88 (May 15, 2011)

i'm more annoyed by professors who take off for lack of attendance. for sure that put a dent in my gpa...like i wasn't already hurt by missing important notes/homework assignments/quizzes


----------

