Lobo's Lessons

Image credit here It's a Saturday.. And I have only just finished invigilating the Special Examinations for the First Year students.. Funny thing is, the exam season is over... And they had already taken this exam before... So why am I here invigilating an exam, when exam season is over, and the students had already taken this paper before, when it is a Saturday where I should be resting at home? Ladies & gentlemen, welcome to the record-setting blunder of the century (as far as my department goes). I am not a liberty to divulge any details, but suffice to say something happened that made the validity of the exams questionable. And so it goes, the students had to resit the paper again...all 2000-odd students from the entire First Year cohort of the entire University... Setting a record indeed. What I had seen these past 2 months has indeed been a test of courage against adversity against many malignant forces, with true integrity shown by the few chosen people... The implicatio...

I just had another student coming in, asking to change his marks... Just 5 more marks for an A-.... Just 5 more marks, so the Saudi Government will not take away my scholarship... Just 5 more marks so that I can continue to support my brother who is also studying... The thing is... I liked this chap. He came to class, did his assignments, scored very high for his coursework...but did badly in his finals... He came, but didn't beg... Didn't snivel... Didn't cry... Totally different from the guy who came here last week. I just wish there was some legitimate way I could help him...  But 5 marks is still 5 marks. If I give it to him, where would be my integrity? My trustworthiness?  My honour?  If I don't have these... Then who am I?

Photo credit here . I just spent the last 2 hours getting a certain student to leave my room. He had failed the course due to a few reasons: 1) His English was very weak 2) He regularly skipped classes, and did not even bother coming up with an explanation 3) He missed a consultation assessment, worth 10% of his total marks 4) He missed his final presentation assessment, worth 15% of his total marks 5) He lacked the initiative to even do anything about it until I put out his total marks in the system. Of course by then, the marks would have been finalised Worst of all, he spent two hours in my room pleading, crying, snivelling, just for me to push up his marks. Two hours of my extremely precious time gone... two hours of my life, snatched away from me... Some people just can't accept the universal fact - You eat, you pay... It's just no use crying over spilt milk. And it's no use crying over two wasted hours of your life listening to sob stories...

As I mouse over the sign "SIMPAN" on the UTM marks website, I hesitate.. could it really be over?... My finger trembles for a while, both from lack of sleep and an overdose in caffeine... Like a Gulf War veteran, vivid images of dazed days and sleepless nights overwhelm my senses... oh the horror... the desolation... the senseless destruction... the red pen in my hands bleeding dry, as the blood red ink pours itself onto tons and tons of paper pages... oh the horror... Suddenly, I am back in my room in UTM... The clock reads 11:10pm... Way too late to be at the office... How I long for the comfort of the bosom of my loved one... This tour of duty has gone on for too long... (Soundtrack: Soldier of Fortune by Deep Purple) I press the mouse button... After what seems like an eternity, the grades come to life... I blink in a daze... I blink again, and comprehension registers... I have given my students their due... Time to get mine... At long, long, last... my nightmare is over....

Photo credit here It is that time of year again, where the students feel exhausted, light-headed... but relieved... Their tour of duty is over... Soon they would be home with their loved ones, leaving the battlefield behind... No more operation manuals! No more midnight patrols!... At least for a month and a half, they would be free...The airlift back to civilisation awaiting them at the base. Leaving us here... Time to take out our torches and burn the midnight oil. Time to get out the blood-red ink, ready to stain the piles and piles of lined papers, where they left their scrawny handwriting behind. Time to start marking those exams papers, lads... We'll hold the fort until they return.

As I mouse over the sign "SIMPAN" on the UTM marks website, I hesitate.. could it really be over?... My finger trembles for a while, both from lack of sleep and an overdose in caffeine... Like a Gulf War veteran, vivid images of dazed days and sleepless nights overwhelm my senses... oh the horror... the desolation... the senseless destruction... the red pen in my hands bleeding dry, as the blood red ink pours itself onto tons and tons of paper pages... oh the horror... Suddenly, I am back in my room in UTM... The clock reads 8:47pm... Way too late to be at the office... How I long for the comfort of the bosom of my loved one... This tour of duty has gone on for too long... (Soundtrack: Soldier of Fortune by Deep Purple) I press the mouse button... After what seems like an eternity, the grades come to life... I blink in a daze... I blink again, and comprehension registers... I have given my students their due... Time to get mine... At long, long, last... my nightmare is over.....

Here it is ladies and gentlemen.. the motherload... Muuuuuuuuuuuuaaaaahahahahahahahaha!!! The power at my fingertips... The ability to give As and Bs at a moment's glance without looking back! The power is indeed intoxicating... must fight... must... resist... beware the dark side... Must...be...fair...to...students...nnnggggggggggghhh!!! Whew... I beat the dark side this time... but for how long?... jeng jeng jeng... Let's burn the midnight oil baby... we got a lot of work to do...