James Tang ’18:
There is a growing sentiment among EA students that good grades are more important than a good education. The best teacher is not the one who is intellectually challenging and thought provoking—who asks their students to do more than expected, to go above and beyond to seek the thrill of learning. No. EA’s most sought after teachers are the ones who are easy. Students, especially those intent on attending some of the nation’s most prestigious universities, are willing to sacrifice the value of a good education for the all important high GPA, and that is a problem that needs to be addressed.
The immediate response in favor of high grades and a glowing transcript is clear to most students: college. And by no means am I suggesting these factors to be detrimental. However, the unfortunate reality is that the college admissions process has pressured many high schoolers and their parents into carefully picking the courses they think will earn them a spot in the university of their dreams. Chris Anderson, Academic Dean, explains it best, saying, “I think sometimes students who could be really interested in something lose interest because they’re just looking at the bottom line. Or, they shy away from certain courses because they’re afraid that the grade won’t be as high as they think they need it to be in order to make their transcript look perfect.”
Students and their parents feel that separating themselves through the courses they take and the GPA they receive are the defining aspects of a qualified candidate. However, this is not the case. Lara Grieco, Associate Director of College Counseling and former Senior Associate Director of College Admissions at the University of Pennsylvania, explains, “Holistic admissions focuses on the story behind these numbers. Deans of Admissions are leading committee conversations around applicants’ intellectual interests and excellence of mind, not just data points. Ultimately, colleges hope to enroll curious, happy, talented and energized students motivated by a sheer love of learning and pursuit of knowledge.” Even from a college admissions perspective, students should not pursue grades solely for their numerical value. Rather, students should be driven by their underlying intellectual passions, work hard to discover the value in their learning, and the high grades will inevitably follow.
College aside, the true value of a good education cannot be obtained when the focus of schooling shifts from enrichment in learning to grade chasing. Adolescents, who are naturally afraid to fail, only have these fears compounded in this perceived environment that scrutinizes the smallest differences in GPA. Head of Upper School Michael Letts explains, “Inevitably, in the learning process, you must fail. And in life, you have to fail at times along the way. By placing the emphasis on grades only, you forget and minimize the fact that failure is a part of learning. And so, when kids get dinged because they get introduced to a new concept, and it takes them a little longer to understand or master, they dwell more on the grade than trying to learn from their mistakes. And I think that inhibits the learning process.”
Furthermore, this grade-driven culture pressures students into taking shortcuts to assure them of what they discern to be success. From Sparknotes and Shmoop to pre-typing functions into a calculator for a math test, the techniques and resources to “gaining an edge” destroy the purpose of education altogether. As Tony Herman, member of the English Department, explains, “The authors wrote these books so you could be part of the dialogue. So you could talk back to the text and have your own opinions about whatever the text is discussing. Gender, race, political stuff, religious stuff—all the big things in life.” He continues, “But, with the internet and technology the way it is, it’s very easy to find ways around reading because everything is online now.” The chapter summaries on Sparknotes simply cannot capture the deeper messages that these classic works of literature attempt to convey. The answer keys on Slader don’t solidify core mathematical concepts for future application. Ultimately, in an effort to get ahead, students, especially those enrolled in AP and honors courses, have taken a step back, as they lose sight of their own academic pursuits and forgo the value of a meaningful education.
In our increasingly competitive craze to climb atop the class ranks, we often sacrifice our precious years of high school to chase after letter grades and stress over decimal points. We forget that high school is, first and foremost, a place to explore our interests. Through these interests, we can discover our passions. And by pursuing these passions, we can shape our future hobbies and careers. By shifting the focus away from a GPA, we can learn out of pure curiosity, not as a means to an end. We can take our insights out of the classroom, enabling us to facilitate meaningful academic discussion away from the watchful eye of a teacher and her gradebook. We urge students to look past their GPA, and explore education for the sake of learning.