I think the American ideals are severely lacking in the grading system of a majority of universities. From what I gleaned from our current unit and the year as a whole, “the american dream,” as unachievable as it is, does promote individualism and constant progress. The light at the end of the tunnel is always in front and as an American, striving for that light, is highly romanticized in our culture. I am biased from living here all my life, and I like the idea of the light being in front of me. However, the grading so common in universities is mediocre and yet it’s all As. The best is already achieved by a majority of students.
An additional widely shared point of pride for many Americans is the prevalence of competition as shown by America’s obsession with capitalism. However, grade inflation undermines the idea of positive results arising from competition completely.
This project forced me to take responsibility for my own progress. I argued in favor of grade deflation because I think that grading should be meaningful. But as I wrote, I felt embarrassed and self conscious. I preached to people that they should not be pleased with receiving meaningless A’s when I complain about the difficulty of Chadwick constantly. I can say that from this project I am coming away with a new perspective on my education.
I earn the grades I receive. They are a reflection of me and my progress. Chadwick affords me the best of both worlds; I can do poorly in the beginning of a class and then through all the guidance given to me, improve immensely.
I think back to talking with so many Chadwick students and the best students we know are the ones who are the hardest graders but at the same time the best mentors. They break us down and build us up better than we ever could have imagined ourselves. Those are the lasting experiences.
All of things I learned are taken with a grain of salt of course. I know that when I am applying to college and my GPA falls .2 below the average admitted freshman I’ll wish I had gone to some other school, or when I earn a B for a test I studies all night for I’ll doubt I deserved the score. However, I think that certain lessons stay with you and I think I wrote a convincing enough Op-ed that I am a firm believer in my argument.
I also came away with another piece of advice thrown around from time to time, but was never meaningful before. Education is not only about the “next step.” I don’t need an A so I can go to college and then graduate schools and then sell my soul to Goldman Sachs or some other finance company. As I wrote the words to my op-ed I believed my argument. I wrote the words I needed to hear and they began to convince me of something that I never believed before.Inflated grades are comfortable. They’re kind, but they also lack achievement. No one moves forward by standing in the same place, and no leader can arise if everyone is at the front of the line.
An additional widely shared point of pride for many Americans is the prevalence of competition as shown by America’s obsession with capitalism. However, grade inflation undermines the idea of positive results arising from competition completely.
This project forced me to take responsibility for my own progress. I argued in favor of grade deflation because I think that grading should be meaningful. But as I wrote, I felt embarrassed and self conscious. I preached to people that they should not be pleased with receiving meaningless A’s when I complain about the difficulty of Chadwick constantly. I can say that from this project I am coming away with a new perspective on my education.
I earn the grades I receive. They are a reflection of me and my progress. Chadwick affords me the best of both worlds; I can do poorly in the beginning of a class and then through all the guidance given to me, improve immensely.
I think back to talking with so many Chadwick students and the best students we know are the ones who are the hardest graders but at the same time the best mentors. They break us down and build us up better than we ever could have imagined ourselves. Those are the lasting experiences.
All of things I learned are taken with a grain of salt of course. I know that when I am applying to college and my GPA falls .2 below the average admitted freshman I’ll wish I had gone to some other school, or when I earn a B for a test I studies all night for I’ll doubt I deserved the score. However, I think that certain lessons stay with you and I think I wrote a convincing enough Op-ed that I am a firm believer in my argument.
I also came away with another piece of advice thrown around from time to time, but was never meaningful before. Education is not only about the “next step.” I don’t need an A so I can go to college and then graduate schools and then sell my soul to Goldman Sachs or some other finance company. As I wrote the words to my op-ed I believed my argument. I wrote the words I needed to hear and they began to convince me of something that I never believed before.Inflated grades are comfortable. They’re kind, but they also lack achievement. No one moves forward by standing in the same place, and no leader can arise if everyone is at the front of the line.