I suppose it might be a natural human instinct to want as much as you can get while working as little as possible for it. It might be a natural instinct, but it's not one that should be indulged.
Students want the highest grades with the lowest effort. What happens when we get rid of grades? Why not just have them pay their tuition and then escort them to the nearest party? After 4 years, give them a diploma, it would accomplish about as much as the system we currently have does and should cost taxpayers a lot less.
Joy Malak floundered through her freshman year in college.
"I had to learn how to balance my finances. I had to learn how to balance work and school and the relationship I'm in." The hardest part about being a new college student, Malak said, "is not the coursework. It's learning how to be an adult."
That took a toll on her grades. "I didn't do well," said Malak, who powered through and is now in her sophomore year as a neuroscience and literature double major at the University of California, Santa Cruz, or UCSC. "It took a while for me to detangle my sense of self-worth from the grades that I was getting. It made me consider switching out of my major a handful of times."
Experiences like these are among the reasons behind a growing movement to stop assigning conventional A through F letter grades to first-year college students and, sometimes, upperclassmen.
Called "un-grading," the idea is meant to ease the transition to higher education — especially for freshmen who are the first in their families to go to college or who weren't well prepared for college-level work in high school and need more time to master it.
But advocates say the most important reason to adopt un-grading is that students have become so preoccupied with grades, they aren't actually learning.
I can guarantee that without grades, most won't learn at all.
Another solution is to keep grades but don't do anything with them:
Beginning July 1 of this year, the University of Pennsylvania will cease recognizing students’ academic achievements via Dean’s List designations.
According to Interim Provost Beth Winkelstein and Vice Provost for Education Karen Detlefsen, the change comes from “the shared belief that a Dean’s List designation does not reflect the breadth and evolution of students’ academic achievements over the course of their education.”
It amazes me that such things are being considered after we've spent an entire month learning which is the best college basketball team. We won't eliminate the search for excellence in sportz, 'cuz sportz iz importunt.
That college kid, Joy Malak, doesn't sound like an anomaly. She could not have gotten so mixed up if her parents, school and community hadn't been so indulgent. I'd say that Joy Malak is a victim, but she would be too comfortable with that and probably smoke some pot and take a nap.
ReplyDelete"I had to learn how to balance my finances. I had to learn how to balance work and school and the relationship I'm in."
People used to learn those things in high school. I started cutting lawns at 14. We weren't poor, but I didn't have any money.
The hardest part about being a new college student, Malak said, "is not the coursework. It's learning how to be an adult."
That is adorable. Malak thinks college life is like being an adult. On the teacher sub-reddit, new teachers often regret their career choice after being on the job for three or four weeks. The first couple of years teaching is difficult, but their complaints seem to be more general complaints about being an adult.
That took a toll on her grades. "I didn't do well," said Malak
She just said that the hardest part was not coursework. Her priorities were screwed up.
now in her sophomore year as a neuroscience and literature double major at the University of California, Santa Cruz, or UCSC. "It took a while for me to detangle my sense of self-worth from the grades that I was getting. It made me consider switching out of my major a handful of times."
What career path is Malak going for with those two majors? Combine two majors that don't have immediate employment prospects, she may be able to get into a nursing program after she graduates.
Experiences like these are among the reasons behind a growing movement to stop assigning conventional A through F letter grades to first-year college students and, sometimes, upperclassmen.
And there's the problem. Shield Malak from life for as long as possible. Keep kicking the can down the road, so she can't function in any kind of corporate or organizational structure.