Feb 23 2009
Reality 101 and an Opportunity for Writers
Not, however, in that order. My sister, shakespearemom , has a blog here on today.com and, truthfully, she and flit are the reason I started a blog at all. She’s a Ph.D. in English and often has little writing how-to’s and exercises and I think it’s a real pity that her very excellent (but quiet) blog get so little attention, not just because I like it but because she has so much expertise readily available. She’s also very responsive. Yesterday, she put up an excellent exercise on the writing staple: do don’t tell. I urge everyone interested in character or writing to take advantage and check it out. I liked it so much, I’ll be stealing the idea for Thieving Thursday to do my own writing exercise.
Ironically, since both my inspirations (flit and shakespearemom) are directly involved in education and I’m not, I want to talk about education. Truth told, education affects us all and our future. If we can’t educate our children effectively, rocket science will be a thing of the past.
According to this editorial in the New York Times , students in college are now feeling entitled to high grades based on whether they do the reading and attend school, regardless of what they learn. Students maintain that grades should depend on level of effort, according to this article as opposed to demonstrating knowledge, expertise, or understanding of the subject. I didn’t see this article when it first came out, but I did read the letters to the editor on the subject today. There, too, some students seemed to feel that effort was sufficient. Someone mentioned that parents put pressure on kids to make their own investment worthwhile with good grades. Some parents apparently are more interested in what letter’s on the paper than what their kids have learned.
Let me explain why that just ain’t so. See, college is more than a drain on a parent’s pocketbook and a place to practice drinking games; it’s also an opportunity to learn and a chance to prepare for what’s coming - i.e. reality. And, folks, in the real world you don’t get an A for effort.
Oh, sure, you can shuffle through life in a nowhere job, just filling in time, but you won’t be rated an “A” by anyone involved. And, in the real world, there’s no makeup tests when you screw up. One screw up, a really good one, can kill it all. Truth is, no one’s going to care how much effort you (an accountant) put on a tax return if the IRS comes after the client and finds they’re in arrears. No one’s going to sympathize if you pulled an all-nighter with your buds and say, “No problem” when you remove the wrong kidney. No one’s going to understand and give you another chance if your forgetting to torque down lugnuts gets someone killed.
In the real world, it doesn’t matter how hard you work on a design. If it’s bad, no one will buy it or, worse, you’ll get someone killed. If you just let one kid slide as a social worker, it could be the one that’s on the front pages the next day and on your conscience the rest of your life. Pilots have to deal with the real laws of physics, not their bud who runs a flight school.
Kids, I hope you’re never treated so dismissively that we confuse “being there” with learning. I think the notion that people are entitled to rewards and adulation for “just getting by” is a factor in our high juvenile crime rate and in some kids who get through college completely unprepared for real life. ‘Cause that real stuff is out there.
Oh, and parents, if you’re going to get angry over the high cost of college (which I absolutely agree exists), I’d be angrier at my kid getting an A in a class without absorbing any of the knowhow you’ve paid for.
Just my 2 cents.
“See, college is more than a drain on a parent’s pocketbook and a place to practice drinking games; it’s also an opportunity to learn and a chance to prepare for what’s coming - i.e. reality. And, folks, in the real world you don’t get an A for effort.”
VERY WELL WRITTEN. I take learning and education very seriously. I didn’t go through undergrad, grad, and law schools for nothing. And, it starts early, which is why I spend so much time with my daughter’s development right now, at 16 months. I hope to impart the desire to learn and excel at learning so she can be a better success than I could have ever been.
I’ll have to check out your sister’s blog.
Davida
This was really good, Steph. And I totally agree - effort isn’t the measure of an education, what you learn is. Doing all the reading doesn’t mean a thing if you comprehend what you just read. Effort means diddly-squat if you can’t do the work.
Oops! That should be: “Doing all the reading doesn’t mean a thing if you can’t comprehend what you just read.” My fingers got ahead of my brain.
Hear, hear! Ah, for a day when parents actually care about their kids’ inner development, and not just whether the kids make them look good to others.
I think the real problem is parents don’t want to be bothered. If their kids get good grades, that means the parents don’t have to do anything to help out, that everything’s fine. But once kids are struggling with something, all those same parents want is for the teacher to “solve the problem” so that the parents don’t have to worry anymore… and the solution seems easier if the teacher just lowers his/her standards… rather than the student (with the parent’s encouragement) stepping up their effort.
It’s part of the Wave of Entitlement… why work for anything? Just expect it to fall into your lap instead. If it always has, won’t it continue to?
But then, if nothing is earned, nothing is appreciated. I still remember the day I turned in my dissertation. I was so relieved, so happy, that I almost kissed the guy in the elevator on the way down. I could never have felt that without a hell of a lot of work. But the feeling is one I will never forget.
This is a very well written article. A high percentage of the grade in some of my college classes was based on attendance, which promotes showing up, but not learning. Your point is very well made that employers want performance and productivity, not effort.
Roxie
You are invited to sign the Recovery Wall
http://recoveryrocks.today.com/recovery-wall
Ok. So, I visited the Johnson Space Center website for tour information. I’m planning our trip now. I’ll let you know when we go. There’s a kid space place that she won’t be able to fully enjoy yet, but I want to expose Dasha to as many learning opportunities as early and as often as possible. You proud?
I also checked out your sister’s page. You’re right. She’s handing out a wealth of knowledge.
Davida
I’ve been hearing a lot about this problem, the last few years. It seems to me it’s all about surface appearances, and nothing about substance. They want to appear as university graduates, to get a good job. (Though who knows how well they’ll be able to do the job.) But there’s little knowledge behind it, and absolutely no capacity for critical thought.
I also heard a psychologist talking about how kids are starting to crack now, as they’ve been handed these grades and have been coddled and taken care of all along the way by their parents and often by complicit teachers, and once they finally have to stand on their own two feet and deal with the real world themselves, they break. They never had to face failure and work harder and overcome it, and develop any strength.
It’s a really worrisome thing.