BrieAnna Wallace
Professor Loput
ENC 1101 (12:30 P.M.)
20 February 2012
Ignorance Killed the Cat
In “Making the Grade” by Kurt Wiesenfeld and “In Praise of the F Word” by Mary Sherry, both authors establish an issue with the grading system in schools. Somewhere along the line, love for knowledge died and a generation of indolent students were born. They both however, point the finger of blame in different directions. Wiesenfeld claims society has molded the student to believe he/she can simply charm their way to good grades, whereas Sherry holds complete liability in the pampering of high school teachers.
In the materialistic world we live, it’s easy for Wiesenfeld to grasp how love for knowledge has diminished. Fast fortune with
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They are both correct. There shall be integrity in the educational system once again, if and only if, teachers and students alike apprehend the importance of working hard for a desired
In his article “College Students Need to Toughen Up, Quit Their Grade Whining”, Robert Schlesingner addresses the emerging issue of grade inflation, and more specifically, the greater sense of entitlement that seems to prevail in the modern scholastic realm. Mr. Schlesingner begins his address by presenting his background and what standards and expectations were common during his time through both lower-level education and college. During his time [time in what?], a grade of C represented “adequate” or average work, B correlated with “an above average job”, and obtaining an A required “spectacular” performance by the student. [more concise] However, as cited by Mr. Schlesingner, an investigation by the University of California-Irvine seems to indicate that the values of each letter grade has changed, at least in the mind of the modern student with more students now believing that A’s and B’s should be more easily obtained and that the amount of effort put into a task should be considered when grading. Next, Mr. Schlesingner presents his opinions on this topic of grade inflation and the proper influence of student effort on grade. To conclude,
In the United States, the average grade has been slowly creeping up during the past years. This grade inflation has generally been seen as a positive for students and parents, but it has much more detrimental effects for the state of higher education. One person to address these consequences is Brent Staples, author of “Why Colleges Shower Their Students With A's.” In his essay, he not only explains how grade inflation came to be, but he also describes how it is something negative since it is the lowering of standards so that excellence is no longer excellent because of how easily higher grades is given out.
The reporting and presentation of the same news incident in different newspapers are very different. This essay will analyze the articles about the association between concussion and suicidal risk. The Toronto Star and The Globe and Mail present the same story with several differences between them. Most importantly, we will further analyze some implications of these differences, namely in the appearance, language, and the content.
Schools and college professors, who give you a good grade for excellent productivity on assignments, allow students to perform poorly, but still benefit relative to a person with an A. Two articles that observe grade inflation, find the rising problems of grade inflation, and finding solutions for grade inflation. Stuart Rojstaczer, an author from Grade Inflation Gone Wild, is a professor of geophysics at Duke university, and created gradeinflation.com in regards for his concern about grade inflation. On the other hand, Phil Primack is a journalist and teacher at Tufts University, and published in the “Boston Globe” Doesn’t Anybody Get a C Anymore? While college students, who work with little effort and still attain easy A’s by working poorly on assignments and exams, Primack and Rojstaczer, develop a firm connection towards grade inflation and the solution that can regain control over real education.
In the article A’s for Everyone, Alicia Shepard recognized a pattern in which her students placed too much emphasis on the letter grades received as opposed to the actual understanding and retention of the curriculum being taught. To understand this phenomenon, Shepard drew upon both the historical catalyst which led to it and her personal experience as a college professor. The systematic indoctrination of the importance of letter grades originated during the Vietnam War when "Men who got low grades could be drafted," (p. 3, par. 4). This having occurred, the pressure to obtain a higher grade became less about gaining knowledge and more about regurgitating information to receive an A. Subsequently, future generations stressed to their offspring
Historically, letter grades have served as a tool to rate educational intelligence. By looking at the progression of a student’s grades over time, people are able to determine whether or not the students are developing skills in certain areas. Using a one letter grade to determine progress has received many critiques as a common system used in America’s education. Critics claim letter grades cause students motivation and creativity to decrease because grades shift students focus from learning the material to obtaining a good grade.
While many believe that the grading system has a concrete standing in the success of education, other’s believe that it actually can inhibit or at least lessen the effectiveness of learning. In “A Young Person’s Guide to the Grading System,” Jerry Farber states that for the longest time, many have dismissed the fact that grades could be harmful to the learning process. He argues that grades lack the ability to bring about self-discipline within the students learning the content. While the educational system has rendered changes throughout the years, the grading system maintains its virginity and has been fairly untouched. He insists that many educators are in strong belief that grades are the only way to ensure that learning is to take place within the classroom. Most of society would dictate that the system has been fairly effective in getting individuals through their schooling. But as Farber points out, students tend to focus more upon the grades they are receiving and less upon the content itself. Throughout his writing, Faber uses many forms of rhetoric to persuade the reader to believe the fact that the grading system is corrupted and should be changed, and offers a solution which is referred to as the Credit System. With this being said, it can be stated that Farber effectively conveys his argument through his appeal to a younger
The biggest issue with Sherry’s plan to stop grade inflation is that she didn’t account for the fact that there is no universal grading system in the world. Grades are based on a criterion set by a particular teacher, and the teacher is the final person to decide what grade the student receives. An A
Kurt Wiesenfeld's article, "Making the Grade," presents the social issue of grades. The author explores the extent of this problem by examining the social environment in which these students were raised. Wiesenfeld also addresses the changing attitude towards what a grade represents and the true value of a grade. The author effectively uses several writing strategies to engage the reader, influence the audience and illustrate how much thought he has given this issue. The essay is organized by a logical progression from thesis to individual claims and the author provides real-world examples for the issues. With those real-world examples, Wiesenfeld explains how serious the problem can become and demonstrates why the issue should be addressed.
Of Mice and Men’s George and The Scarlet Letter’s Hester Prynne the main characters in these two novels. Both are misunderstood by the people around them. Of Mice and Men was written in 1937 by John Steinbeck to show the most vulnerable people in society at that time. The Scarlet Letter was written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1850 to illustrate the way of life for the Puritan society and the way some were punished or misunderstood due to not following the Puritan ways. In Of Mice and Men and The Scarlet Letter Steinbeck and Hawthorne share a common theme between the two novels. By comparing and contrasting the characters, setting, and conflicts it is illustrated that
In this Compare And Contrast essay i will be comparing of what my parents think i will do this year and how i will do this year. We will be looking at the similarities of what i said and what my parent said. Then we will look at the differences of what i said and what my parent said then i will compare to see what is similar and what the differences are between my writing and my parents.
It's June, and another graduating class is hoping, among other things, to achieve high grades. Of course, "high" is a subjective target. Originally a "C" meant average; today however, the expectations and pressures to give and receive "A's" and "B's" takes its toll on teachers and students alike. This nullifies the value of the traditional grading scale and creates a host of entirely new problems. The widespread occurrence of grade inflation seriously affects the credibility of secondary and post-secondary education in America.
Both flax and chia seeds are nutrient dense oilseeds. Both have become popular in recent years with flax seeds being the more widely known of the two. Both are excellent additions to your diet. Each of them can provide you with a range of health benefits. If you want to pick one and are unable to make up your mind, consider the comparison below.
Dunkin’ Donuts and Krispy Kreme Donuts both have Facebook pages to communicate with their customers and employees. In this paper, both companies will be discussed and the similarities and differences of the two companies and how they communicate with their audience through their Facebook Pages. Building meaningful relationships with customers and employees online requires good interpersonal communication, particularly listening. Social media is now being used by businesses to build relationships.
The key to being able to differentiate one newspaper from another is often, if not always, the way the latter presents its news, both aesthetically and stylistically. These aspects have gradually divided newspapers into two distinct categories: broadsheets and tabloids. The former being a more neutral and respected type and the latter a newspaper for more or less entertainment purposes only. This can be well observed in two specific articles that both report on political campaigns.