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Do take note that many professors at USNA have been lobbying for an A+/A/A- system for years. Not sure if this will ever become reality, but beware.
 
LineInTheSand said:
I think "A+" only exists in fairy tales...
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Depends a lot on the prof, the course, the expectations and so forth. At my last uni, we used +/- designates. A+ was very rare - just like scoring a 1590 on the SAT or a 35 on the ACT is. They should be rare. (That said, my upper-level courses are structured so that students typically work very hard and earn a lot of As and Bs - ~75% - but this is also as it should be, I believe.)

At my current uni, we don't use +/- enhancements and I much prefer it this way, because it cuts down on the grade-grubbing. I suspect if I were teaching at a SA, I'd get a lot less of that silliness anyway, but I very much prefer no +/-.
 
We didn't use "A+" at CGA or GW. An A was a 4.0.... as high as we could go. An A- was a 3.7, B+ was a 3.3, B was a 3.0, B- was a 2.7, C+ was a 2.3, C was a 2.0... etc (gets a little fuzzy in the Ds and below.)
 
Is it true that the second half of Plebe summer is somewhat easier than the first?

Some folks say they break them down the first half and build them back up the second. Just curious if that's true or not...
 
Beantown said:
Is it true that the second half of Plebe summer is somewhat easier than the first?

Some folks say they break them down the first half and build them back up the second. Just curious if that's true or not...
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Depends. Depends on the firsties, depends on the performance of the plebes, depends on the culture of the company. Depends on each individual's perspective.

But generally, I think expectations are higher second set. The plebes have undergone three weeks of training. There are no more excuses.

Also, just as the first set detailers start to get a bit tired of being detailers (and pick up some of that plebe hack), second set introduces new, fresh, motivated firsties to start it all over.

But yes, some of the more intense yelling dies down a bit. Plebe summer has an end, and second set is there to prepare plebes to be functioning midshipmen vice just the screaming plebes that rise out of first set. But second set detailers are perfectly capable and willing to go back to basics if necessary.
 
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nuensis said:
Depends. Depends on the firsties, depends on the performance of the plebes, depends on the culture of the company. Depends on each individual's perspective.

...

But yes, some of the more intense yelling dies down a bit. Plebe summer has an end, and second set is there to prepare plebes to be functioning midshipmen vice just the screaming plebes that rise out of first set. But second set detailers are perfectly capable and willing to go back to basics if necessary.
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This. This is a really perceptive response.

The purpose of the two halves of PS are very different in some fundamental ways. It's not really about "breaking people down" during first set, but about breaking down individual-ness: individual wants and desires, and especially the very natural (up until now) desire to act only as an individual. I suspect this is partly why USNA's admissions so strongly emphasize team sports, because really, that's the only experience most people have with subsuming their desires to some larger collection of people.

During first set it's all about getting people to PAY ATTENTION and act for something greater than yourself. This is why plebes have to do really stupid stuff when they don't pay attention, like imitate a diving sub (ah-WOOOOO-gah) when they drop something, or wear their swim buddy's two or three name tags if their buddy forgets theirs or puts it on upside down, stuff like that. When plebes stop doing stupid stuff like not following basic directions, detailers stop making them do stupid stuff in turn. That's partly why plebes are so bewildered first set: they really have no idea what to pay attention to.

During second set, as nuensis wrote, now that plebes are really able to pay attention, there's more of an emphasis on developing the skills to be a successful mid. They run the various courses (we didn't have back in the day), they work on their sailing quals, they shoot weapons (NO WAY would they ever put this in first set! Not paying attention!), they have team-building exercises. The mental challenge shifts from working to learn, toward learning to work. Usually even the most bewildered plebes begin to succeed at something (and good detailers make sure this happens, for the confidence of the individual and the good of the unit). As a practical matter, screaming only goes so far - builds a thick skin, but eventually people just tune that out.
 
^^ I stand corrected. This is what happens when us geezers assume it's the same as it ever was!
 
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