she doesn't know the students' names, anyway

The Kazakhstani grading system has four possible marks, 2 of which are viable at my school. A 5 is supposed to be excellent, a 4, good, and a 3, satisfactory. However, students get kicked out of the gymnasium if they get several 3's.

As the ice sublimes to fog –
The Uralsk version of spring thaw – a pile
Of journals for the students’ grades,
Part of some fearsome, permanent file,
Is marked indelibly by hand. The kids,
In contortions of indignity and guile,
Seek to guide blind justice
Toward desired outcomes, while
My fellow teacher, efficient in her own way, sits,
Writing 4’s in a broad argyle.