I almost declined to write on this subject, as it borders on a diary entry rather than given my highly regarded opinion on life, movies, books, etc. ;). But I just have to vent. I've recently finished a summer school session of my accelerated French course in order to fulfill my language requirement. I speak, read and write moderate Spanish, but with the appeal of French films, I decided to try to learn French academically (as I am also teaching myself Italian at home). My first two semesters in French were great. I had a lot of fun and learned a great deal and just as with Spanish, I find myself slipping into French for some phrases when I speak. However, this summer course, which is equivalent to two semesters jammed into four and a half weeks, was grueling. I really love TA's. I've always had pretty good experiences with them, even though I'd rather have a professor teach my class. And I've always loved summer classes. Things are more laid back, students tend to bond more, and the teachers tend to make things fun. Not this time. I will not mention names, but my French teacher is a middle-aged woman who lived in France for twenty years, married a Frenchman, raised two children in France who refuse any connection to America, and has recently returned to the States and to teaching in this country. That sounded really exciting at first. We would learn so much more about our area of study because we would receive first hand knowledge. But what we really learned is how the French system works, and how petty the French are. For example, we were given a quiz on the second day of class. No one did well and as she was handing back the quizzes, she said that they were so bad, she didn't even record the grades so not to worry. However, she did record the grades and factored them in to our final grade. She lied to us! I mean, the guy that sat next to me received a 3% on it! Ok, so we had weekly role plays where we were to choose a partner and prepare three skits based on subjects provided of which one was chosen. The instructor asked me,"Laura, do you speak fluent Spanish." I said that I used to and asked why. She told me I have a Spanish accent when I speak French. I grimmaced and expressed concerned and she laughed and told me that it was fine, not to worry about it. Then on the following role plays, she docks me based on that accent. And really, it's only one word I say with a Spanish accent: "que"-- pronounced kay in Spanish and kuh in French. Otherwise, she praised me for my accent during regular class sessions. OK, next, we had a rough draft due on the same day as a role play. She specifically informed the class that if we had to choose which assignment to work on, to do the role play because the rough draft would not be graded. The next day, she tells us that we need to do peer evaluations of our rough drafts to be turned in for a grade. Most of us did not have a rough draft, only the brainstorming and outline. She said that at the beginning of the summer session, she had told us that the rough draft and peer evaluation would be counted for a grade. But this wasn't the first time she had changed her mind about something so we took her word for it that it would NOT be graded and then suffered the consequences of her whims. I did very well on the rest of the assignments, receiving A's on the tests, writings, the paper, and one of three quizzes. The rest, I received high B's but every time she would give me my grade update, it was a high B and it made no sense. I expressed concern early on and asked what I could do to ensure an A in the class. She told me the paper would determine that for me and that I had to do well on the paper. I showed her a rough draft everyday and worked on her suggestions every night. She had also told me that the fact that I didn't have the peer evaluation wasn't a big deal as it was only 2% of my participation grade (which was 8% of the total grade). So, I received a 98% on my paper. And going into the final, she claimed I still had a high B. I expressed my confusion and disappointment, but still hoped for a good grade on the final to get an A. After my oral exam Tuesday, I asked about my grade once again. She told me she couldn't give it to me. And I asked if I might speak to her later about it, hoping to "appeal" to her sense of compassion. She misunderstood the word "appeal" and immediately assumed that I planned to officially appeal my grade. She became angry and shut me down then and there saying I had no case, that I am a B student and I had a bad grade on my peer evaluation that was hurting me. This, from the same woman who I talked with many times and who claimed she cared about me and my grade and would consider my interest in my performance when it came time to grade, if need be. I became so flustered that I left. I received my grade yesterday and I have a B in the class. I have to say, that I am completely soured on the whole "French thing." Note to all teachers (my mom also): Being strict is one thing, as long as you're consistent. Do not make false promises and flip flop on issues. And for this particular teacher, get of the power trip. Stop relishing in the fact that you hold the power to make or break a student's career. I will still graduate With Honors without the stupid French A, so know that the only thing that was accomplished is that yet another graduate student has given a bad name to all TA's, not to mention the French.