toto wrote:
On 8 Sep 2006 13:06:37 -0400, (Herman
Rubin) wrote:
Parents want their kids to excel in school, and they've heard about
the illegal use of stimulants such as Ritalin and Adderall for
"academic doping." Hoping to obtain the drugs legally, they pressure
pediatricians for them. Some even request the drugs after openly
admitting they don't believe their child has ADHD.
I suggest that grades be abolished, except for advisory
purposes. Also, it should be understood that getting a
high grade and learning the important material may well
be at odds with each other.
This is something I agree with. It seems to me that students who
focus on the grades are not focused on learning, but on pleasing the
teacher or doing the minimum to get the grade s/he wants.
Are you a teacher or are you just repeating a myth you have heard? I am a
teacher and I can tell you that kids who get As usually do so because they
love learning. How many times have you heard a kid say, "I failed that
class because it was boring?" What about "I passed that class because it was
fun?" Kids who enjoy learning do well in class. Pretty simple.
Furthermore, I see nothing wrong with signing up for a
course and then deciding it is not worth completing. I
see nothing wrong with collecting a lot of D's and F's;
the straight-A student tends to be weak and shallow in
the important things.
Again we agree, but the problem is that colleges do NOT want students
who have poor grades.
There's a good reason for that. Kids get low grades because they don't show
up and don't do the work. Why would a college want someone like that?
My dd had a class she earned a C in that she
says was the best class she ever took in her major. She struggled
with it, but learned more than she did in many classes that were
*easy* As for her.
You know, I LOVE learning -- English and history, that is. I love it so
much I couldn't stop and so I became a teacher. There is nothing like
talking about literature all day long -- FUN! As for math and science --
forget about it. NOT my thing. Anyway, I just ate up everything in all my
literature and history courses, but I would have had a heart attack had I
ever received a C. It's possible to love what you are learning and want to
get a high grade as well.
--
nimue
"As an unwavering Republican, I have quite naturally burned more books
than I have read." Betty Bowers
English is our friend. We don't have to fight it.
Oprah