The Thing About Harry

In Spring 2007, I taught a student, whom we'll call Harry, in the Intro to the Second Half of the Good Book. And in Fall 2007, I was flattered that Harry took my course on the Letter Writer's Theological Treatise.

Harry never struck me as brilliant, but I knew that he wasn't afraid to work hard. He did his readings, prepared thoroughly for class, and was eager to learn. He asked questions when he didn't understand and sought help whenever he needed it. And he wasn't afraid to wrestle with the significance of the academic material for his personal life and for his flock.

I knew that Harry considered me to be quite demanding in my grading. He even once remarked to Prof. Mom that "Getting a B from SW is like getting an A with any other prof!"

What I didn't know was what he thought about my teaching abilities.

I'm TAing the Intro to the Second Half of the Good Book this semester (I was supposed to teach the course myself, but the economy's recent downturn and the school's need to trim the budget led to this situation). The class is quite large, so a second TA was appointed.

At the beginning of class today, I asked for a few volunteers to switch into the other TA's tutorial. And one of my new students was adamant in his unwillingness to change tutorials.

The reason?

He's good friends with Harry. And Harry had told him, "She's probably the toughest grader at this school. But you'll never learn more from anyone else."

I've always known that students, including Harry, talk about their instructors amongst themselves.

But it's nice to know that Harry said nice things about me.