I agree with the author on many points. Too often we put so much focus on what our grade will be, and we lose sight of the eternal, spiritual perspective of education. We worry so much about doing well that we don’t get much of anything from the experiences we have. I do think the author made grades sound too unimportant. They do have importance; that scholarship is important, and that career is important, but we cannot let those divert our attention from what is truly important. As the author said, we will not be asked to show our transcript when we are judged, but we may be asked how we served the Lord.
One of the other points that the author made is the “classroom King” hierarchy. Most of the time, I do not think of my teachers this way, though I can’t say I have never had a teacher like that. If anything, I think of them as wiser and in charge, but rarely do I find them tyrannical. Usually they are nice, and, well, a teacher. We tend to be afraid of our teachers. We don’t ask them questions, we try to suck up to them for extra credit, and we do all we can to avoid their bad side. I find it interesting how normal and how human teachers can be if you just have a friendly chat with them. Some of the best discussions I have had in High School were with my teachers. There is rarely a real reason to be afraid of a teacher.
I found this article insightful. Too many times we forgo knowledge for a grade. When we really give ourselves the chance to learn, we never have to sacrifice a grade because in the end, we are winning more than just a class rank; we are earning eternal knowledge. Let us find our priorities!
ReplyDeleteI think this goes back to Dr. Swilua's story about getting a C just for getting a C's sake. I think it's important to see past just that oh-so-coveted letter and worry about how the experience and class and knowledge gleaned has changed you as a person.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a problem especially at BYU. Everything seems to be a competition. If someone got a better grade than me that must mean they are smarter than me. We need to remember that everyone here is smart, and we can still learn a lot, even if our grades aren't straight A's.
ReplyDeleteI thought this was so true! I agree with you. I agree that grades are important, but when you focus somuch on the grade taht you don't actually learn anything, it is a problem.
ReplyDeleteI agree about your teacher thought. I too have had some great conversations with my teachers. I find this reading perfect for this time of the semester as everything gets crazy.
ReplyDeleteThis also reminded me of SWILUA's dare for all of us to get a C. And... good point Audrey. We all had to be pretty smart to get in. Everybody be happy and remember what really matters!
ReplyDeleteI agree with this. I look back at my education and most of the time I was occupied with what scores I got and making sure what my grades were. I can't recall many lessons or things I have learned in some of my classes. It's kind of a waste of time if we don't take something with us from the class. Something that will stick for a long time...
ReplyDeleteYeah I really think it is important to find balance in school and the gospel. We need to maintain an eternal perspective in order to see all of the blessings in our life. I think most of us do the usual Info Dump after a semester or year instead of keeping that knowledge with us.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with you. You could really broaden this idea of having an eternal perspective from education to all things. We might want an A right now when in 10,000 years, we'll wish we had retained the knowledge. Similarly, you might really want...I dunno, a new song but you don't want to pay for it so you download it illegally, in 10,000 years you might wish you had not stolen, instead of being grateful for being able to listen to that song at that particular time. I'm not saying this in a "you're a sinner and I hate you" sort of way, so I hope you don't antagonize me if this comment happens to apply to you.
ReplyDeleteI think that I personally am guilty of worrying too much about my grade. I have found that when I try to learn for the sake of learning, rather than learn so that I can pass the test or get the grade, I actually end up doing better. Although, I still do worry about my grades. But I can try to do my best anyway!
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with Zane and Josh. In the past I have always retained enough information to pass the final exam. We all need to do better with remembering that grades won't matter in the next life. All that we will have is the knowlege that we can remember from the classes we take.
ReplyDeleteI agree that we should focus on learning for the sake of learning. It is not so important if we have the A, it is more immportant if we know the material. When we get out into the real world all that really matters is what we learned, not what our grades were.
ReplyDeleteThat's a good point about the whole teacher thing. Teachers are pretty cool people! One of my best friends in high school was Mr. Haynes, who happened to be my 50+ year old creative writing teacher. And grades do tend to overpower the spiritual side of things on some occasions, at least for me. I wish that scholarships and applications (business school! :O) depended less on whether I get a 4.0 or not. :/
ReplyDeleteI agree with the author and yourself. It's kind of sad how our education turns into a job that we slave away at instead of a journey to self-enlightenment. I also really loved the parable at the end of the piece. it was quite intriguing.
ReplyDeleteI honsetly don't think grades are always an accurate determinant of an individual's intelligence. A person can work really hard but still not produce the disired grade, however, a person can also work hard, or not as hard, but produce a high grade. There are different levels and types of intelligence. I think it's important to not judge everthing by grades. A person's intelliegence should not be limisted to only scholasitc studies, but rather it can include a range of areas.
ReplyDeleteMan, I really enjoyed this talk. Often I do get caught under the fallacy that grades are what matter, and this is when I get caught up about "passing the class" rather than learning!
ReplyDeleteI also really struggle with this concept. It's hard to look beyond the grade and to what really matters in the long run. Grades are so important now that it's difficult to do this, but we need to in order to be truly successful in life.
ReplyDeleteI agree, I think sometimes we need to sacrifice the grade to learn.
ReplyDeleteYeah, now that we can "look over" c's, of course I manage to get something lower than that for the first time. Hahhahaha, yeah, but I agree, its about the learning
ReplyDeleteIt's life. Some situations are harder than others.
ReplyDeleteI agree about the teacher thing; the best and most meaningful conversations I had in high school were after school in Mr. Walker's room or before school started in Mr. Rohling's room. We would have... therapy sessions I guess you would call them in D-Walk's (Mr. Walker's) room with two of my other favorite teachers about practically anything and everything. Teachers are actually very non-intimidating once you get to know them.
ReplyDeleteyeah i definitely agree with you zane, grades reflect your effort in class and are important to a certain degree.
ReplyDeleteI agree they really do, I believe that some people get away with good grades and not a ton of participation. But I feel like for the most part you gotta be in class
ReplyDelete