Boiler Room

Why is there such an emphasis on grades? The pressure to get the highest grades and do well? Does that mean you learned more than everyone else? When "university" was conceived in Paris and Bologna the teachers taught and the students learned. The professors got paid if they were good at what they did, and pelted with rotten objects if their performance was sub-standard. People paid to learn, not write assignments for grades which would decide your fate in the future world of employment. How much do we actually learn at university? A lot, but not through tests or papers, through being there! Grades don't say you have learned all you needed to learn. Much of the learning you achieve comes from your interaction with your profs, your classmates, and being in class. Maybe there needs to be some change in the way we approach post secondary education. Like having classes that award you marks for every day that you attend. If you are present in every class and participate, you get 100%. Participation could be worth 40% and attendance 60%. Unfortunately our society has grown to be very competition oriented. "If you're not first, you're last!" Maybe it's time to start another form of post secondary education. One that focuses on attending and learning for the sake of learning to make better human beings. Unfortunately we live in a society of hunt or be hunted. Survival of the fittest. Writing papers and tests teach me what? They teach me how to cram, or make stuff up to get a good grade. What did I learn from doing that? How to do things quickly, under pressure. Did I learn anything about the material I was studying? Not really. It goes in and out so quickly, there's not much time for storage. Maybe I'll start my own school. Hmmmmmmm, I wonder if it could be credible in this dog eat dog world of win or die? Well we may find out, and we not, depends how much I learn about running a school.


Remember: "I may know everything, but I can't give you all the answers!"