I had to miss Joe Courtney’s appearance in Groton tonight. Both my wife and I were sick, and spent the day in bed. I figured I was doing a public service by keeping the germs here at home.
Now I’m sitting in front of my computer, just a little worried that I may not be able to sleep tonight, having already spent the majority of the last 24 hours asleep.
I’m in no mood to write about politics, since I’m not really thinking all that clearly (okay, no surprise there) so I’m going to concentrate on the Decline of the West, in this case the lowering of educational standards since the halcyon days of my youth.
Specifically, I refer to this article in this morning’s Times (Student Expectations Seen as Causing Grade Disputes). Apparently, a sizable majority of our nation’s youth feels entitled to an A or a B merely for trying hard:
In line with Dean Hogge’s observation are Professor Greenberger’s test results. Nearly two-thirds of the students surveyed said that if they explained to a professor that they were trying hard, that should be taken into account in their grade.
Jason Greenwood, a senior kinesiology major at the University of Maryland echoed that view.
“I think putting in a lot of effort should merit a high grade,” Mr. Greenwood said. “What else is there really than the effort that you put in?”…
Sarah Kinn, a junior English major at the University of Vermont, agreed, saying, “I feel that if I do all of the readings and attend class regularly that I should be able to achieve a grade of at least a B.”
You can’t really blame these kids. I can recall awards ceremonies when my kids were in grammar school at which slackers were given awards for effort, apparently under the theory that if they were rewarded in advance that they would respond by actually trying. When my kids were in high school I was amazed to see about one third of the student body awarded “academic letters”, which were awarded only to those who had an “A minus” average. I was 16th (or thereabouts) in a class of over 700 in my high school, and I didn’t have an A minus average. I really don’t believe today’s kids are that much smarter than my compatriots. So it’s not surprising that today’s kids feel that they should be rewarded merely for showing up. Quality of output has never been stressed, so when it is they find it mystifying. For most, it’s the culture in which they’ve been brought up.
My theory is that this emphasis on “trying” as a benchmark must have started at Yale in the 60s. After all, after he had wrecked the economy, grievously damaged the international order, and helped set us on the path to environmental disaster, wasn’t George Bush’s last defense that, while he “may” have made some mistakes, he had always tried his best? Like those students, he feels he deserves an A for effort.
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