I
Buey que vi en mi niñez echando vaho un día
bajo el nicaragüense sol de encendidos oros,
en la hacienda fecunda, plena de armonía
del trópico; paloma de los bosques sonoros
del viento, de las hachas, de pájaros y toros
salvajes, yo os saludo, pues sois la vida mía.
Pesado buey, tú evocas la dulce madrugada
que llamaba a la ordeña de la vaca lechera,
cuando era mi existencia toda blanca y rosada,
y tú, paloma arrulladora y montañera,
significas en mi primavera pasada
todo lo que hay en la divina Primavera.
I have posted Rubén Darío’s evocative Allá lejos before, but I am moved to do so again because we are ending the third straight day of really beautiful Mediterranean weather. The air and earth are so profound, I feel as though I were in Tuscany or Provence, or the Maipo Valley, or in dawn-fresh fields near Darío’s childhood home.
The poem, from 1905, is dated. It loses sonorousness in translation, and those who do not read Spanish may not have the affection for Darío we hold. Still, so that more people may participate, we will prose it out in English:
Ox I saw in my childhood throwing off steam one day beneath the Nicaraguan sun of burning golds, in the fertile farmland filled with the harmony of the tropics; dove from woods sonorous with wind, hatchets, birds and wild bulls, I greet you, for you are my life. Ox, you evoke the sweet dawn hour that called to milking, when my existence was all white and pink, and you, cooing mountain dove, signify in my past spring everything there is in Spring divine.
II
Almost everyone failed my exam so I curved the scores by taking the square root of the raw score (out of 100) and multiplying by 10. On a scale of 90/80/70/60 for A/B/C/D, I got: 8 As, 7 Bs, 6 Cs, 5 Ds, and 9 Fs.
Is this normal? It looks terrible. Only those who have made A or B have marginal competence in the material; perhaps I should not have curved things. Without the curve we would have had: 4 As, 4 Bs, 6 Cs, 2 D, 19 Fs.
In fact, the uncurved grades are the most accurate in terms of reflecting upon preparedness to continue. I can vouch for the passing quality of the work of those making A, B, C, and D.
I am interested in all opinions, but especially opinions of anyone in the sciences, or other disciplines where many students fail. I have never had a class do so poorly – and this was a test for which it is, basically, a question of studying or not. It was, furthermore, a standardized test – I did not write it, and I have given versions of it before.
III
Please sign on as a citizen co-sponsor of the Habeas Corpus Restoration Act. It is important – fun – easy – instantaneous – and free.
Axé.
coldhearted scientist وداد 
Oh, that is so potentially discouraging. I gave my two senior seminar sections a very straightforward assignment and about half didn’t read the instructions or just blew them off, so I’m going to have to give them the equivalent of a D or F and a little pep talk on Wed. Not a question of competence, simply lack of… something: motivation? respect? self-respect? whatever.
i know this might be a silly question – but have you asked the class why they think they did so poorly?
and oh, i signed…smile – thanks for the link
Joanna – good, so they are *majors* and you are still going to fail half. Most of mine are not majors.
Azg – Yes. Besides the usual reasons (understandable, addressable) and special reasons (understandable, but not addressable in college) and the excuses (poor, but inconsequential) there are the factors which really frustrate me because I should have some power to change them and I do not – the decisions that matter have been made by secretaries and instructors with no commitment to the program, just to their jobs and to pushing people through.
These have to do with choice of materials, articulation of course goals, and scheduling.
It is very odd to be teaching a multi-section course like this – I can’t change the program, can only work within it, so I cannot make the sorts of adjustments I could if a course I had designed myself were not working. The last time I worked in a multi-section environment where I did not choose the materials or make the schedule myself was as a T.A., and the professor in charge of the whole program was running a coherent operation.