Been super busy with school, so I haven't posted in a while. But the fact that I was so busy with school to write a blog post sparked an idea for my newest blog post!
After just freaking out about taking my finals (yay for the quarter system!) and just finishing them a few hours ago, I'm finally on Spring Break! Since I've entered college, I've realized a noticeable shift in the ideals of students as it pertains to their classes. All through high school, I was taught that it was more important to understand the information than to get a good grade in the class via memorization. And that has been my mindset since then and through college so far. What I've noticed lately is how obsessed college students are with their grades! The want to know what they got on an exam immediately after they finished, they want to know what other people in their class got right away, they want to know their grade updated to-the-minute, they want to know how much the class will be curved, it doesn't end!
I couldn't tell you how many times I've been asked what I got on an exam by a stranger in my class right after I pick it up. It's not your business to know my grade, that's between me and my professor. I just calmly tell these people that I don't discuss grades, and they look at me like I have two heads or get defensive. I don't need to know what this person got on an exam, why do they need to know what I got? Because we are being brought up to value our grades above everything else, and to measure our self-worth via a letter, and in my opinion, this is exactly the opposite of how we should be handling education, especially higher education.
Learning should be exactly that, learning. When I walk into class every day, I shouldn't be thinking about whether or not I need to know a vocab word or concept for the next exam, I should walk into class ready to learn about the topics and ask questions that further my understanding, not my pet peeve: "Do we have to know this for the exam?".
The point is, where is the want for learning in college students? We are supposed to be the ones who are curious about the world around us and want to understand it, not just take exams, get a grade, and get trapped in a vicious cycle. Grades are important, they do give us a good idea of how well we understand the information as presented in class through the professor's eyes, but they should be second to understanding the material. Memorization, and not understanding, has been encouraged, and this has the potential to have a detrimental effect on the next generation of academics.
That wasn't meant to be so dreary, but I really wanted to make a point. I'm also considering intermittently blogging about cool and controversial science, so be on the lookout for that. When you start your next round of classes, please go in with the mindset that you want to really understand the information, don't just mindlessly take notes and them memorize them for the final. Now go and read something academic just because! If you would like a suggestion, try http://www.iflscience.com/
Kim
