Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - Is a "C" a bad grade? When did this happen?

CityOfAngels · 08-05-2005, 10:33 PM

The thing isn't whether or not parents think a C is a bad grade, but rather colleges. I think the pressure just to go to college has skewed the overall parental views on grades, and instead of rewarding their children for having passed a class, they either punish or hold back their rewards from their children for not being the best. Another idea that has been skewed is "doing the best you can." Many parents feel that if you're not doing the best, then you're not doing the best you can. But what they don't realize is that interest level has a lot to do with their child's motivation. If they're not interested in the material, then they are less likely to push themselves to be the best. That's why you have some students getting C's in math, but getting A+'s in Social Sciences. The reality is that they ARE doing the best they can, only based on their level of interest.

One of the problems is that any given school's curriculum is not based on reality, but rather personal achievement within subjects. So students go to school, and they're not preparing for life, but rather preparing to compete with other students to go to college. A friend of mine was valedictorian at my high school. She went on to college undeclared. I assume that's because she was so busy trying to master a system that she didn't actually spend any time preparing for what she actually wanted to do in life. Let's get real; it is a rarity to find a profession that requires you to convert equations into graphs, classify various species, know who fought which battle with who and when and where, type a 25-page analytical essay of a fictional book (double-spaced), run a mile within a given time-limit, and if you have time leftover, paint a masterpiece and then perform in an orchestra in front of your parents.

It's a system that we've accepted to guide our children; to guide us. It's not perfect, but it's not horrible either. It's the best we've been able to come up with and agree to so far. But that doesn't mean we can't improve upon it.

So, based on all this jibba-jabba: I would not penalize my (future) children for getting C's, but I will encourage them day-to-day to strive to do better, because in the long run, you're either living paycheck to paycheck, or you're comfortable financially. Lots of times that is based on how well you matched the system's expectations of you.

08-05-2005, 10:33 PM	#3 (permalink)
CityOfAngels Oh shit it's Wayne Brady! Location: Passenger seat of Wayne Brady's car.	The thing isn't whether or not parents think a C is a bad grade, but rather colleges. I think the pressure just to go to college has skewed the overall parental views on grades, and instead of rewarding their children for having passed a class, they either punish or hold back their rewards from their children for not being the best. Another idea that has been skewed is "doing the best you can." Many parents feel that if you're not doing the best, then you're not doing the best you can. But what they don't realize is that interest level has a lot to do with their child's motivation. If they're not interested in the material, then they are less likely to push themselves to be the best. That's why you have some students getting C's in math, but getting A+'s in Social Sciences. The reality is that they ARE doing the best they can, only based on their level of interest. One of the problems is that any given school's curriculum is not based on reality, but rather personal achievement within subjects. So students go to school, and they're not preparing for life, but rather preparing to compete with other students to go to college. A friend of mine was valedictorian at my high school. She went on to college undeclared. I assume that's because she was so busy trying to master a system that she didn't actually spend any time preparing for what she actually wanted to do in life. Let's get real; it is a rarity to find a profession that requires you to convert equations into graphs, classify various species, know who fought which battle with who and when and where, type a 25-page analytical essay of a fictional book (double-spaced), run a mile within a given time-limit, and if you have time leftover, paint a masterpiece and then perform in an orchestra in front of your parents. It's a system that we've accepted to guide our children; to guide us. It's not perfect, but it's not horrible either. It's the best we've been able to come up with and agree to so far. But that doesn't mean we can't improve upon it. So, based on all this jibba-jabba: I would not penalize my (future) children for getting C's, but I will encourage them day-to-day to strive to do better, because in the long run, you're either living paycheck to paycheck, or you're comfortable financially. Lots of times that is based on how well you matched the system's expectations of you.