Air Your 2025 Grievances

Plus more on AI, and alternative grading in large courses

The end of the semester is upon us, which means an avalanche of student work to review, meetings to attend, and mental breakdowns to manage. But no matter how busy I get, I can always find time to complain.

If you’ve been following this blog for a while, you’ll know that for the past two years I have observed the winter celebration of Festivus, a made-up holiday popularized by Seinfeld in 1997. This non-religious, non-commercial holiday celebration incorporates many idiosyncratic traditions, but the one I have traditionally observed is the “airing of grievances.”

In 2023, I made a Festivus post airing my grievances with assigning final grades. In 2024, I recorded a podcast episode with my colleagues Josh Eyler and Liz Norell, in which we aired our grievances about grades in general. I honestly wasn’t planning to do an airing of grievances this year, given how busy it’s been. But Liz and I were talking, and we feel particularly aggrieved here at the end of 2025. So, we’re making the time.

Given the way things have been in higher ed this year, we expect that you also have grievances, many that are totally unrelated to grades. Liz and I would like to feature those grievances in a podcast conversation. If you’d like to complain about grades and grading, protest an injustice you’ve endured as a teacher, or simply lament the state of higher ed in 2025, please use this anonymous form to do so by next Tuesday, December 16. Liz and I may share your grievance in our podcast conversation, or simply highlight the major themes we’re seeing from our friends in higher ed this year.

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In other news: this week, I appeared on The Opposite of Cheating podcast with Tricia Bertram Gallant. You can watch the video here or listen on Apple Podcasts here. Tricia and I talked about AI and alternative grading, and I shared a story about cheating from my high school days. During our conversation, I also lament the lack of support for grad students in higher ed (another grievance!).

And finally, something to look forward to: soon, I plan to share a guest post authored by three of my favorite STEM instructors about alternative grading in large classes and how they manage it. This is something I get asked about all the time but have little direct experience with, so I’m excited to feature a few folks who can share some practical know-how. Stay tuned! And don’t forget to share your grievances with us: