An A student

Gregory Heath
9/03/14
RWS200
The "A" Student There is a thin line separating those who deserve an "A" and those who consistently receive "A's". As one progresses through the schooling system, different ideas are acquired about what the different letter grades mean and how to achieve them. The universal idea of an "A" is constantly changing, as does the difficulty of achieving one. Depending on the school/instructor, how difficult it is to achieve a certain grade can vary. So much so that common phrases such as "An easy 'A'" and "An 'A' for effort" have emerged, while others insist that an "A" is closer to perfection than it is to "a good effort". Grades are supposed to be a numerical/letter representation of ones academic progress in a course or lesson. But more often than not, good grades become a goal and not a reward; thus students are striving for grades and not the knowledge which they represent. In his article "Making the Grade", Kurt Wiesenfeld points out that students are often undeservingly granted good grades. This allows the same students to graduate with a degree and find a job, without the actual knowledge needed to strive in their field. Similarly, he then goes on to note that these under-qualified students that are now in the workplace aren't ready for the tasks at hand. Universities are sending students into their careers with the same mindstate they had throughout gradeschool, find the quick and easy way to get the job done. Consequently, jobs and projects could be done incorrectly or left incomplete. The difference is, though, that when these real world jobs are incomplete or incorrect, they can create real world problems and difficulties. The grading system was made with the intention that it would accuratley reflect a students preformance in a class. It's commonly believed that if a student understands a subject well, they deserve an "A". But for a student to actually deserve that grade, they must also complete the entire workload, whether they know they information or not. The grade in the class is determined by the amount of work the student completes correctly, and this is where the controversy starts. Some argue that if a student demonstrates that he/she understands the given subject, he/she should be given a passing grade (whether their work was completed or not). Others argue that if a student truely works their hardest and gives a strong effort in the class, they deserve a passing grade (whether their work was correct or not). At the end of the day though, if searching for a simple "A" grade in a class, one must be willing to work and study for that class, and complete each assignment with accuracy (easier said than done, of course!). The source of the problem resides in the earliest years of the school system. Starting from a young age, students are being taught and prepared for the next school year instead of for life. Elementary school students are being prepared for middleschool, middleschoolers are being prepared for highschoolers, highschoolers for college, etc. Each year of schooling teaches you just enough to get through the next year. The problem is, though, that by the time the student reaches college he/she is not ready for life as an adult, only for more school. Meaning that students are going into college with the idea that they need to pass, and not the idea that they need to be preparing for their future. Students aren't realizing that what they are learning is essential for their job until it's too late and they are unable to preform.