In “Grades and Money,” Steven Vogel makes it clear that he is disappointed and frustrated with what grades have become. He believes that grades have become commoditized and that students’ grades suffer because of their relation with money. Vogel also believes that students no longer take any risk with their education. I agree with Vogel that grades are being equated to money by students, that students’ work suffers because of grades, and that students no longer take risks in their educational process.
To begin with, I agree with Vogel that grades are being equated to money by many students. Vogel claims that because students see this way, they do things for the entirely wrong reason! Vogel writes, “The relationship between me and the students is really an exchange relationship: they provide me with work of a certain quality and I reward it—pay for it—by giving them credit...” (391). I can relate to what Vogel is saying here seeing as I too am a student. Being a student it sometimes feels like the work I turn in is a product, and in a sense the instructor is quality control. Taking a class is supposedly to place students into a learning environment, but instead it feels like it’s a business sometimes. The atmosphere usually makes me want do as little work as possible to get a decent or passing grade. Vogel then writes, “Students expect that their grade will indicate the amount of time they have put into their course, as if they were hourly workers…” (391). Vogel relates students’ time to that of hourly pay proportionate to the amount of time put into the class. As Vogel sees grades being equated to money by students, many students essentially think that the related class content is work, which in turn, they get paid for. This does...
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...ragile product, and what we perceive that’s associated with it can seriously affect the process of learning as a whole. Students need to ask themselves what they are actually learning and why! Students need to understand what a letter grade means to them financially and educationally. Students need to approach grades without fear of a letter, or the fear that their scholarship gets taken away. Students should be learning for the right reasons for the biggest educational benefit. As soon as students stop following their dreams and passions because of an A, B, C, D, or F, is a very sad day; one that I hope to honestly never see, and I hope students see it the same way as well.
Works Cited
Vogel, Steven. “Grades and Money.” Reading and Writing in the Academic Community. Eds.
Mary Lynch Kennedy and Hadley M. Smith. Custom ed. Boston: Pearson, 2013. 389-
92. Print.
An F is a grade that many students fear of obtaining in their school career, unless the student does not care about his or her education. In Carl Singleton’s article, What Our Education Needs is More F’s, Singleton expresses his belief that if students begin to receive more F’s, students would be working harder to earn good grades, parents would become more considerate of their child’s education, and teachers would be stricter and harsher when grading. Therefore, education systems requiring teachers to frequently give more F’s will fix the “inadequacies of American education,” or so Singleton believes. (Singleton). Unfortunately, Singleton’s plan if enforced, would have several negative effects to it, such as; students’ motivation would instead diminish rather than accelerate, students would not
In his essay, "Why Colleges Shower Their Students With A’s,” Staples claims that student grades are increasing for the wrong reasons, causing college degrees to become meaningless. Staples provides evidence that average grades have increased significantly over the last several decades, but claims that it is not because students are working harder. The real explanation for grade inflation, he argues, is the effect of grades on both students and their professors. Teachers give more A’s to receive better evaluations and increase job security. Students give more importance to their grades as a result of the rapidly increasing cost of a college education. Staples argues that modern
Stuart Rojstaczer talks about how higher education in the United States has decreased substantially these days. High grades are very common among college students when they should not be that high. Schools are handing out easy A’s to those who do not deserve them, decreasing the quality of education. Even more astonishing is the fact that students are spending less time studying and more time drinking and partying, students are consuming more alcohol than ever and degrade in a really fast way. Also Stuart Rojstaczer talk about that in private schools grades are much higher than in public schools, but virtually everyone was experiencing grade inflation.
At first I thought this was an essay trying to inform us on the issue of college students. As I have read deeper into it I have thought it out to be more of a persuasive essay. The whole essay examples are given in which students and parents whine for better grades. There were five or ten situations brought up where someone would get a B but thought they worked hard enough. By repeatedly giving us visualizations of this she is trying to get a point across. She makes this the main argument in the essay. She is trying to get the point across that kids are ridiculous to ask for a better grade. If the teacher gives them a grade of a B, she clearly means it. Then to add on to that the teachers give in to the child. The main part of school is to learn. If
In his essay, “Why Colleges Shower Their Students with A’s,” Brent Staples argues that grade inflation in colleges results in college degrees becoming less valuable. Staples points out that grade inflation is happening among all colleges and there are many factors contributing to this problem. Colleges are willingly giving students good grades that they do not deserve so that the course will not be omitted from the lack of attendance. Part-time teachers’ jobs are at risk because their position is not guaranteed. These teachers were sometimes threatened by the students saying they will complain if their grades are not adjusted for a higher score. With this being said, students are putting pressure on teachers, causing their jobs to be in danger.
According to student reporter Joseph Maneen, “Studies have shown that rewards can motivate students to attend school and that the more kids are in school, the more they learn” (“Cash Courses” 1). Teachers cover topics more in-depth than a school textbook does, so for a student to understand what the teachers are teaching they must be present in the classroom. Some may say that being rewarded with money doesn’t help improve our success in subjects we don’t like, but student Katelyn Vlastaris says, “‘If you reward us with money, it may motivate us to do great in subjects we don’t like, and then we’ll start doing well by ourselves’” (“Cashing In”). Once a student gets involved in a subject they are unsure about, they start to learn about it and understand it better, and the students will continue to grow in that subject area.
Former professor of geophysics, Stuart Rojstaczer, in his informative op-ed piece, “Grade Inflation Gone Wild,” featured in “Christian Science Monitior(2009),” investigates grade inflation among universities today. Rojstaczer’s purpose is to inform and educate universities on the inflation of grades, and how an A has become the average grade among those schools. He adopts a dismissive tone when generalizing and addressing the students on their behaviors and actions. Rojstaczer found over 80 universities with data on they’re grades, using this he was able to better understand the inflation and also analyze possible solutions. His logos based writing portrays a negative connotation on todays students and their ability to achieve within the classroom. There is no hiding that the standard for grades has been on the rise sense the 1960’s, and is now at an average GPA of a 3.0, but rojstaczer may have lost his audience with his arrogant approach.
Vogel, Steven “Grades and Money” Dissent Fall 1997: 102-04 in Mary Lynch Kennedy and Haley M. Smith. Reading and writing tin the Academic Community. 2nd ed, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall 2001. 337-340.
When students arrive at university, professors expect them to understand the material to an exceptional standard. The problem is that grade inflation is occurring more regularly in secondary schools and universities across the country and when these students’ marks are sent to universities or colleges, the student may be given multiple scholarships for something that he/she should not have earned. Grade inflation is conceived between both students and teachers, meaning that the students are given higher grades when they have inadequate learning, reading, and verbal skills, while the teachers do not have to grade as many papers as they should in the real curriculum. There have been multiple examinations that have confirmed that grade inflation is very real and still occurs today. Students seem to think that they do not need to put forth much effort in school to do well and grade inflation encourages this thought.
Leef, George. “A Key Reason Why American Student’s Do Poorly.” Forbes Website. Forbes Magazine. 24 October 2013. Web.
Many high school students do not want to hear the words, “you are going to fail”, but as will be seen that is exactly what they need to hear. In the article, “In Praise of the ‘F’ Word”, Mary Sherry states that students are not getting a good education and teachers should enforce the “F” word, meaning flunk. Sherry argues that students, especially high school seniors, are not getting the proper education they need to succeed, as many do not have the basic academic skills and are not well informed about those skills needed for their lives after high school. Furthermore, teachers should introduce the “F” word to their students and give them the realization of their future being in their hands.
Students should be paid for having good grades. According to Psychology Today the United States has fallen behind other nations in education. In addition to this, approximately every one in four students in the U.S. drops out of school before graduation. The main reason for this is that students have little to no motivation. Students are either bored by school, or they are distracted by the other things that go on in their lives such as sports, jobs, friends and their own family life. Although learning has its own rewards, some students respond better to money. This essay explains how students will be paid and the reasons that they should receive money for getting good grades. Some reasons that students should be paid are: if students received rewards for having good grades fewer students would drop out, graduates would be better educated, people would seek higher education, less crime would be committed, less people would rely on the government and graduates would be more qualified for better jobs.
Unfortunately, along with the astounding cost of college education, comes a pressure for students to compete for scholarship dollars. Faced with losing the means of paying for their schooling, students will go to just about any length to assure good grades. Often clear ethics and morals take a back seat when it comes to doing whatever it takes to pass a course with a good grade. Any teacher with a heart would reconsider a poor grade that would cost a student the funding to complete their education. While some students might earn terrible grades in History, they may make terrific doctors someday. It seems absurd for a grade to have the power to sabot...
“What makes a child gifted and talented may not always be good grades in school, but a different way of looking at the world and learning.” That’s what the senior United States Senator from Iowa Chuck Grassley once said. When students get a “F” on their exam, that does not necessary means they are stupid, or they do not know the material. It could only mean they have a different way of learning, or a different way of explaining the material which the teacher is not aware of. There are different ways of learning that students have, and there are different ways they apply their knowledge into real life. Therefore, grades are not the best way to judge the students’ standing in their classes, nor is it the best way to judge their learning process. In addition,
By nature, most students are brought up in an academic environment motivated to get A’s and B’s on their report cards. Those grades sometimes don’t thoroughly report how much a student has learned or gained knowledge in each topic. Some instructors throw in factors totally unrelated to learning, when the main objective of academic institutions is to learn. In order to clearly demonstrate how much a student has learned in the classroom, schools should change their current grading system and teach students how to learn.