An Appeal for a Grade Change, a Lifetime Later
After 2 children and 45 years of marriage, I would like to appeal my C grade in ‘Marriage and the Family’
Registrar
Drake University
Des Moines, Iowa 50311
Dear Registrar,
As we wind up the school year, I would like to appeal my course grade for “Marriage and the Family,” which I took in 1971–72.
Asking for a grade change so many decades later may seem unorthodox, but I have some compelling evidence. My husband, David, and I will be celebrating 45 years of marriage this month. I believe that fact alone shows my command of the subject matter — far more than the C on my transcript would indicate.
Put me in front of any academic committee and I will prove that I am better than mediocre. In addition to having the same spouse, I’ve occupied the same house and same job for 30 years — 25 of which were spent at the same newspaper (no small feat, in a crumbling industry). We simultaneously raised two children and buried four parents — an exercise in both hanging in and letting go.
Back in the early ’70s, much of the curriculum was devoted to personal finance: applying for a mortgage, buying insurance, shopping for appliances…
