Clash Confessions 1 : "The Swap"

If you think you know everything… you’re wrong.

The chairperson of the faculty, upon her authority, chose to group highly competent registered enrollees to be on her section (Block A); and the not-so, to her rival instructor (Block B).  This Block A, as she described, was comprised of valedictorians, entrance scholars, honor rolls, achievers, or anyone she knew who came from a known school, while Block B, as she assumed, was composed of the “normal ones”, the untouchables, or the unknowns—or anyone who came from an unfamiliar academe.

The chairperson furnished the list every day without any thorough deliberation with her rival.  After all, they rarely talked to each other.

The D-day of the final lists came and it was time for her to encode the two blocks to the university computer system.  Being unaccustomed to the new information system (complicated that was), she accidentally swapped the blocks.  Hers now was Block B, and to his rival, Block A.

Into her frustrations, she decided to share her blooper to her co-faculty members and that started the impressions—that the Block A was the star class and the crème de la crème, and the Block B was the “unreliables”, the clowns, and the chaos.

Some professors bore these impressions sarcastically and these affected some of the classes especially in the second semester.  The two blocks were incessantly compared and obviously, the B got all the flaws.

Perhaps the chairperson was right.  Based on the screening for second year, almost all who passed through were in A.  Luckily, at least, the blocks became one during the second year.  The impressions somehow were eased off, but the pressure, for all, had just started…