Keeping The "C" Out Of Class

As my public benefits law professor handed out our take home exam on the last day of class he made one thing very clear. He does not like to give out C's. My professor went to the University of Washington Law School when they did not give out letter grades. All classes were pass/fail.

My professor turned to the class and asked, "What is the grading like at Seattle University? You mostly get A's and B's right?" 40 heads smiled over-enthusiastically and nodded in unison. I exhanged smirking looks with the girl next to me. If this was true, my transcript would show that I am the worst (or unluckiest) law student on the planet with my handful of C's.

"I try not to give out C's. You have to really botch this exam to get a C. You have to, like, draw pictures instead of actually writing out an answer." My professor exclaimed. Then he continued, "In fact, in law school I really hated this one professor. I knew the class was pass/fail and I really doubted he would fail me, so I actually had the nerve to draw a picture on my exam. It was pretty funny. But DONT do that on this exam."

This is the best news I've heard all semester. This is the one class I never read a thing for. And I'm being rewarded for it! Now I can skim the syllabus for relevant cases and write a simple discussion of the holding in them and how they apply to the take home. If I decide to put in some extra effort on top of that, I could possibly breeze by with an A. Wow, I just got sprinkled with some lucky dust or something. Cha-ching.

I love professors who don't give C's.