Just as it was mentioned with the definition of an outlier, the definition of a student who is successful is open to interpretation and depends mostly on society's view of the subject. It is absolutely true that a student who works hard and earns A's and B's in school is a successful student. Or is it? Did the student put in all of his effort? Is the student happy with the outcome of the classes? Why is it that we think that earning a letter grade closer to an A makes a student more successful? That's right. It is simply because that is what we, as a society, have learned while growing up. Those who earn better grades, earn better jobs, and sometimes even more money. To society, a successful student earns A's and then gets rewarded for those A's in the form of different privilages or more prestigious jobs. Take the example of honor students at Marshall University. Because the students earned higher grades in the past, they are rewarded with the opportunity to register for classes first. There's also the idea behind merit-based scholarships. Because certain students were more "successful" than others in the past, they get to go to school for less money. Why can't a student who puts in all of his effort, all of his time, and manages to make it with straight C's and D's be considered a successful student? This is because it is far too difficult and inconvenient to measure the amount of effort and hard work that one puts into schoolwork. It is far easier to put a grade letter next to a student's name and judge their success based on that.
There is no black and white when it comes to the true definition of a successful student. The true definition of a successful student lies within that gray area, which we, as a society do not want to step in; for fear of finding something which we don't have the means to or are unable to understand.
Again, I agree! You defined success as in the eye of the beholder. You wrote it so well that you answered the questions in my head as they popped up. I like how you mentioned merit-based scholarships. If you think about it, they are unfair to some extent.
ReplyDeleteVery well put. I do think that institutions are trying to fix the scholarship problems to a degree. A few available in Kentucky have a max GPA for applicants. One of the best is the Dietrich Scholarship and, if I remember right, it's for 2.5-3.5 students only. At least it's a step in the right direction.
ReplyDeleteBut you are a hundred percent in that it is all, once again, up to society. I think people put too much emphasis on society's take on things and often times let it get the best of them. They get discouraged if they aren't what society deems successful and it's all down hill from there.
I feel like the hardest part of this whole situation is judging when a student is really putting in their best efforts. Some students can make good grades without trying. Others do their very best and can get C's. Were these students treated unfairly in the past? Probably. However, there's nothing that can be done now to fix them, right? Not exactly. I feel like, if a student shows a desire to learn and get better grades, and I mean a REAL desire, then they should get some extra help. No one likes to believe it but most of the best jobs are held by people who did well in school and got a higher level education.
ReplyDeleteryan: Yeah that's essentially the message i was trying to get accross. It is next to impossible to truly determine whether or not a student his putting in his/her best efforts. The system society uses seems to work efficiently enough, but perhaps not as accurately as one might hope.
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