Education Ethics: a lesson in frustration & disillusionment

Do you ever feel as if the whole world, or at least your whole world, is conspiring against you? Well, I can't say I typically do, but it seems to happen to me rather frequently in China, and today was one of those days.

This morning, after my 8 am class (which went wonderfully), I popped by the English department office. One of my goals this semester is to make better connections with my colleagues, and this visit was diplomatic in nature. I just wanted to say hello. Well, after some nice conversation with the assistant dean and some other folks, I went next door to peruse the English department library (more on that later). When I returned, I found one of my former students, a post-graduate who'd been in my Oral English class last term. She'd failed the course, mostly because she performed abysmally on the final exam. I particularly remember her for her paralyzing nervousness when asked to speak English--she could barely squeak out a few words between embarrassed glances and repeated apologies.

Today I was informed that she is not only a student, but also a teacher of patho-physiology in the medical school. She came to ask me to "re-consider" her grade, or essentially raise her score so she didn't look so bad. Before you gasp (are you gasping?), know that this is standard practice in Chinese universities, and one that I had been warned about by other Volunteers. It was the first time I'd been met with such a request, however. After a department secretary explained the situation, (you know how it is, she's a teacher too, maybe you can reconsider and help her, etc, etc), everyone in the room gave a hearty laugh and pointed at a sheet of paper to sign, approving the grade change. I first felt confused at the situation, then when awareness dawned, I was rather upset. Not only was I asked to lie about her grade, I was totally on the spot in front of several department leaders. Everyone watched attentively to see what I would do.

I first asked if this was how they did it in China--my subtle attempt to point out that this "way" didn't allow much room for academic integrity. Chuckling, my dean said oh, not too often, just sometimes. I then tried to explain that this made me uncomfortable, owing to the fact that this isn't generally how it is done in the US. They all assured me that it was ok, but that of course, it was my decision, and then waited expectantly for me to sign the paper.

I was in a tough spot. I could pass her, when I'd in fact been generous in the first place with her grade, and open myself up to requests like these in the future whenever someone else did poorly in a class. This would please the leaders and not hurt anyone's feelings. Or I could refuse, perhaps creating resentment, and probably ultimately not changing anything--I am certain that had I not signed, they would have eventually gone above me and changed the grade, anyhow. It was just a nice token gesture to have the foreign teacher on-board.

I opted for the best middle ground I could think of. I told her that if she agreed to have one more lesson with me, I'd pass her in the class. In our lesson, we will review all the things (everything) she'd struggled with during the previous semester. This agreement makes me feel that I've put up at least some semblance of a fight against the rotten system that churns out students with degrees, sometimes regardless of merit.

After this encounter, the student in question accompanied me back to town. We chatted the whole way on the bus, and I discovered that her chief problem is her overwhelming nervousness. She had calmed down a bit, and was able to communicate quite well. She then came along while I bought groceries, pushing the cart and carrying my bags, partly to keep practicing and partly to show her gratitude. I can hardly blame her for this episode--she's only doing what many Chinese students do; that is, demand something she has not earned. The system allows and in some schools, encourages this behavior. It is the system that should be blamed, and I hope one day changed. But in the end, I think our time spent today and next week will be quite helpful to her, and that is comforting at least.