IB Grace

So Ms. Yeganegi handed our most recent math tests back today. Supposedly the class as a whole did very poorly. She made a special effort to let me know that I did terribly when I had casually asked about whether I had "exploded on the test."

"So you think you did well on this test?!"
"Well, I don't really know, so that's why I'm asking you."
"Should I tell you what you got? I don't think you want to know."**
"Wow, that bad huh. Okay, killing my self-esteem can wait until tomorrow I suppose. But seriously, was it that bad?"
"You didn't get the radicals question. I expected better."
"Wait, so that was it?! Just that one? Phew..."
"No, and you had silly mistakes all over the place too."
"Oh. Thanks miss."

Yes, so a little more info on this Ms. Yeganegi. She's a woman, Iraqi I believe, two kids, fashionable I suppose, and what I would call a no-BS kinda teacher. I mean, she's not super strict or stern or whatever, but she will start writing the lesson on the board without warning. She also breezes through concepts and lessons at a blistering pace. I've had her as my math teacher since grade nine, and I'm actually glad. I'm a pretty bad student when it comes to staying quiet or still for too long, but she's never had a big problem with my random antics. I appreciate the fact that she is genuinely interested in what she teaches and that she thoroughly understands what she teaches. These two are by far the two most important things for a teacher to have, interest and competence. It's hard to learn from someone that doesn't have a passion for the subject or doesn't have a good understanding of the same.
Anyway, about the tests we got back. I was preparing myself for a not so great mark when I received my test, and it actually turned out better than I'd thought by itself. I'd got a kidna decent mark and I would've been happy with it as it was. While looking through it though, I noticed a couple spots where I didn't understand what she meant when she marked some questions wrong. I mean, I knew the answers were wrong, but I didn't understand what she meant/what I did wrong. So I asked her to explain to me because I didn't get what I did myself. Today must be my lucky day because upon revision, she told me that she was the one that got it wrong and decided to give me some marks because she knew I got the concepts by looking at my rough work. I ended up with a somewhat significantly higher mark (according to IB kids' standards) out of nowhere and I was just kinda amazed, not at the mark, but at the fact that she would adapt the way she evaluated based on what she knew of me and how I do things. I think she's a good teacher, not because she gives easy marks -- she doesn't, not usually -- but because she's understanding and reasonable.
So all this was just to go and prove my point, which is that being gracious and assuming the best about others, giving them the benefit of the doubt and so forth is a good way of living life. I was on the receiving end of such kindness today, and it felt quite nice. The difference between my original mark and the second mark isn't big enough to justify how glad I was, so I guess it must've been because we're programmed to respond in this way when we're shown mercy and compassion. Irresistable grace, anyone?

**This kind of indirect and somewhat ambiguous answer is pretty typical of females if you ask me. I kid. >_O