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A 200-word-long self-assessments on (Ancient Greek Philosophy) class.

On this assessment, you will assign yourself a grade out of 10  which reflects the extent to which you have contributed to and engaged with the community of the class. You will make the case that this is the grade you ought to receive with reference to the following:

1. verbal contributions during lecture and section (No)
2. questions asked during office hours, emailed to the instructor (mcgupta@ucsc.edu), or posted in “Discussions” on Canvas (No)
3. documents contributed to the class commons (No)

However, your self-assessment should not just consist in a list of your various contributions; I’m looking for you to frame it as a discussion of how you have grown as a thinker. Tie it into the particular issues raised in the class, and especially in contrast to what you thought about the issues when you first signed up for the course. 

Full credit

I am unlikely to agree that you merit a self-assigned score of 10 unless you: 

• can refer to at least two verbal contributions you made to lecture or section, and explain how they furthered discussion and (No)
• have emailed or posted at least one question about a substantive philosophical issue and (No)
• have submitted 2-3 documents (No)

Substitutions: You may still be able to argue convincingly that you deserve full credit  by substituting some of the above contribution types (under “Full credit”) for others. For instance, if you detest speaking in class, or you don’t have any questions because you already know everything (?), you could try to demonstrate that you  still merit full marks if you have submitted more than 3 documents. (However, if you love speaking in class but hate doing homework, I probably won’t be convinced that numerous verbal contributions are an adequate substitute for the documents–I may instead conclude that you have been monopolizing discussions.)

Situation of mine: This class has been not going well so war, cause I ain’t get used to it. For now, I will try harder, ask more questions, communicate with Professor and TA, not only to get better grade but also become a better person, thinker, do well in philosophy area. 

Samples

My main aim coming into this class was to keep my head above water and pass given how many other upper divs I’m taking this quarter. I honestly don’t have a lot of time to go through the reading guides or post on the discussion board. So, my approach has mostly been to try to contribute as much to lecture and section as possible. I was the spokesperson for the group representing the Pythagoreans in our in-class debate on 10/10, and I think I was able to present a forceful case for the fundamental role of number. In section on 10/15, I articulated an objection to the “outdoing” argument in Republic I: even though “outdoing” might not be part of a given craft, like baking, still, bakers can seek to outdo one another (like on the Great British Bake Off.) The fact that the unjust man is competitive doesn’t mean he can’t be a craftsman.

I am realizing that because I’m trying to write everything down and think of points to make, I have gotten out of the habit of questioning what Plato and / or the professor is saying. My goal in the next half of the quarter is to write down more questions that come to me during lecture and email them to the professor right after class. 

Self-assigned grade: 4/10