Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ames!ucsd!sdcsvax!ucsdhub!sdsu!pick
From: pick@sdsu.UUCP (Dan Pick)
Newsgroups: comp.edu
Subject: Re: "Expertise"
Message-ID: <3636@sdsu.UUCP>
Date: 4 Apr 89 18:12:22 GMT
References: <7531@thorin.cs.unc.edu> <3241@goofy.megatest.UUCP> <405@ntcsd1.UUCP> <18764@joyce.istc.sri.com>
Reply-To: pick@sdsu.UCSD.EDU (Dan Pick)
Distribution: usa
Organization: San Diego State University, Math/Sciences Dept.
Lines: 30

In article <18764@joyce.istc.sri.com> gds@spam.istc.sri.com (Greg Skinner) writes:
>
>I think it is unfortunate that people become bitter and unhappy
>because they cannot get good grades in subjects, because that takes
>away from them any possible enjoyment of the subject for its own
>merits.  I wish a lot of the competitive aspect of college would go
>away, so we could all sit back and enjoy what we are learning without
>worrying about grades.
>
I thought people had long ago overcome this fallacy.  First of all,
almost all universities in the U.S. offer some means by which
students can enroll in courses on a non-competitive basis, i.e.
Pass/Fail, Satisfactory/No Credit, etc.  In addition, most schools
offer an auditing option, and many schools have extension programs
where one can study a particular subject without worrying about
grades.

Secondly, most mature students find that grades help them, not 
hurt them, because they serve as a tool for them to focus on 
problem areas on which they need to devote more time and
attention.  Grades are also useful to students as a means
of measuring how they are progressing towards their own 
individual educational goals.

In short, if people become bitter and unhappy about not
getting good grades, then perhaps they need to reevaluate
their goals and motivations for pursuing a specific 
course of study, not build excuses ("the competitive aspect
of college") that contribute to a victim mentality.