From the New York Times:
Prof. Marshall Grossman has come to expect complaints whenever he returns graded papers in his English classes at the University of Maryland.
“Many students come in with the conviction that they’ve worked hard and deserve a higher mark,” Professor Grossman said. “Some assert that they have never gotten a grade as low as this before.” He attributes those complaints to his students’ sense of entitlement...
A recent study by researchers at the University of California, Irvine, found that a third of students surveyed said that they expected B’s just for attending lectures, and 40 percent said they deserved a B for completing the required reading...
In line with Dean Hogge’s observation are Professor Greenberger’s test results. Nearly two-thirds of the students surveyed said that if they explained to a professor that they were trying hard, that should be taken into account in their grade...
Additionally, Dean Hogge said, “professors often try to outline the ‘rules of the game’ in their syllabi,” in an effort to curb haggling over grades.Professor Brower said professors at Wisconsin emphasized that students must “read for knowledge and write with the goal of exploring ideas.” This informal mission statement, along with special seminars for freshmen, is intended to help “re-teach students about what education is.”
The seminars are integrated into introductory courses. Examples include the conventional, like a global-warming seminar, and the more obscure, like physics in religion.
The seminars “are meant to help students think differently about their classes and connect them to real life,” Professor Brower said. He said that if students developed a genuine interest in their field, grades would take a back seat, and holistic and intrinsically motivated learning could take place.
“College students want to be part of a different and better world, but they don’t know how,” he said. “Unless teachers are very intentional with our goals, we play into the system in place.”
In the real world, people only cares about the results. Things like hard-working is comforting words.
ReplyDeleteGrades should definitely be in the backseat when it comes to learning and genuine thirst for education, however we've trapped ourselves in this illusion and process of getting good grades to prove and show what we've accomplished and what we're capable of. If there were classes and teachers who had ideals of just sharing and teaching, genuinely, then grades would not be an issue at all. At least that's what I believe.
ReplyDeleteMaybe if grades were eliminated then a new system would form then students would approach and take on life in a different way
Most students are oblivious to the fact that nothing is going to be handed to them without consuming time and more effort that many are unwilling to give. I do think teachers have done alot in order to allow the students to receive the grade that he or she deserves but there are always going to be certain cases where one might think the grade received didnt match the time and effort that was given. I think it really comes down to how much one wants to really accomplish because life is a challenge and we are all up for the task we just have to allow ourselves to fight.
ReplyDelete