Sunday, March 01, 2009
Student entitlements
Re: "A growing sense of entitlement" by Ruben Navarrette San Diego Union Tribune 3/1/2009
In his column "A growing sense of Entitlement," Ruben Navarette reveals one of the principal obstacles facing American schools: laziness. Parents, teachers, and students are all guilty of diluting the grading system. For example, where A's and B's previously required hard work and superior performance, now B's are a minimum standard before a "C," the new "F." I observed this problem in high school, but mostly from students whose parents pushed academic excellence ahead of any other objective, to the point of obsession and unhealthy expectations. In college, students who had received all A's in high school expected not to work any harder for the same grade in college, as if college is a continuation of high school. Graduate school was the worst. My professors' grading standards varied so much that some gave A's for simple attendance and assignment completions, while others marked quizzes meticulously for grammar and deep thought analysis. Also, many graduate schools' graduation requirement mandate a grade of a "B" in student's specialization courses. Although academic institutions vary and each has its particular grading policies, parents and teachers could prepare students better from kindergarten: hard work, and only hard work, is repaid with high marks.
Original article:
http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/mar/01/z1e1navarre203254/
In his column "A growing sense of Entitlement," Ruben Navarette reveals one of the principal obstacles facing American schools: laziness. Parents, teachers, and students are all guilty of diluting the grading system. For example, where A's and B's previously required hard work and superior performance, now B's are a minimum standard before a "C," the new "F." I observed this problem in high school, but mostly from students whose parents pushed academic excellence ahead of any other objective, to the point of obsession and unhealthy expectations. In college, students who had received all A's in high school expected not to work any harder for the same grade in college, as if college is a continuation of high school. Graduate school was the worst. My professors' grading standards varied so much that some gave A's for simple attendance and assignment completions, while others marked quizzes meticulously for grammar and deep thought analysis. Also, many graduate schools' graduation requirement mandate a grade of a "B" in student's specialization courses. Although academic institutions vary and each has its particular grading policies, parents and teachers could prepare students better from kindergarten: hard work, and only hard work, is repaid with high marks.
Original article:
http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/mar/01/z1e1navarre203254/
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