A Graded Lifestyle
Everyday we go to school and we receive a grade of A,B, C, D, and in the worst case scenario, F, all based upon participation, homework, and exams that we are allegedly prepared for each day in class through lectures and discussions. But is that really the case? Are we really learning the most that we can and getting the most out of our education? As a student at an academically rigorous high school, I've been noticing a shift in focus from the actual learning process to the letter grade, especially during the week of finals. During this stressful week of cramming and lack of sleep, students begin to find ways to study the quickest, the easiest, and the most effective, whether that be studying until they fall asleep on their books or (God forbid) cheating. And when all their hard work and effort doesn't work, we begin to ask ourselves the question: "Does Mr./Mrs. XYZ round?" I don't say this to ridicule or point fingers because I've done it myself, and when I ask this question and it becomes all I focus on, I realized that I began to lose focus on what's actually important: my demonstration of learning over the past semester. In an environment that stresses the end result and not really the means to get there, it's hard for students to keep their mind on the importance of why they get up to go to school everyday. The grades we get in school are no longer a representation of the quality of our education but the last minute efforts we make to save our grades for the sake of our GPA.
It's hard, and I know it's hard, to constantly remind ourselves that what we learn is more important than the letter grade that we get at the end of each semester; I'm not advocating total apathy to the score, but I'm suggesting that as students we remember that our job not only lies in the grade but also in the learning process behind it.