What is with the +/- indicator?

No! All you folks out there reading this blog who have children, are expecting children soon, are trying to have children, or who just think that it is time for Morgan and I to have children, THIS POST IS NOT ABOUT the +/- indicator on a pregnancy test!

Nope, this post is about a stupid system at some institutions of higher learning. Yep, I am talking about the +/- system of grading. On the rolling plains of Auburn, we only had letter grades A, B, C, D, F, and occasionally if you tried really hard you could get an XF (failure due to not completing all requirements) or a WF (failure due to dropping the class too late). We didn't have pluses or minuses. We just had letters. If you got an A, then you got an A. It couldn't be demeaned into an A- just by adding a - after it. It was an A and that is all that it would ever be.

So, now I am back in Grad school at Georgia State and they use the +/- system. So, I got a 92 in my Microeconomics class (YEAH) and I was proud of myself because at Auburn that would have been an A, but at GSU it is an A "Minus". Okay, so an A- in grad school is good and considering the amount of time I actually put into the class it is actually really good, but still, I feel like an A "Minus" is bad. I think a B "Plus" would have felt better than an A "Minus". Maybe it is just the negative connotation that goes along with the negative sign. Maybe it is the arithmetic that occurs when you see the subtracts sign. Mabye it is the sound of the word minus that makes me feel less. Whatever it is, I don't like it. Matter of fact, I think I am not going to use that sign to proceed my signatures anymore. I am going to use a more positive sign.

Peace,

+Robert