Today as I was brainstorming about exactly what I wanted to talk about in my first blog post, I came across a fellow classmate's blog,
"Just Play the Game." Essentially, it's a fairly sarcastic rant about how much modern higher education in American society sucks--at least that's what I got out of it. Yet, it definitely got me thinking. I mean, for the most part, the author and I share a fairly similar view about the undergraduate education system: it's a game. That's it; nothing more, nothing less. (And when I say "it's a game," I don't mean it in the same way as Professor La-Vaque Monty says it's a
game. I mean it's a game in the same way that I mean it's a joke [for lack of better wording]).
As the author of "Just Play the Game" pointed out, everyone from the slackers to the overachievers will ultimately get a degree that is more or less the same as yours (assuming they actually pass all of their classes). So why do overachievers overachieve? I mean, what is the point in stressing yourself out and going the extra mile when you know that all you need is a C- to pass? It's like I get it, but I don't. Like, by no means am I saying that we should all do the bare minimum and be lazy (I do go to the University of Michigan, afterall), but I do think that that type of logic is kind of impractical.
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| The smartest kid I know passed out in lecture. |
I mean for me, I get how the system works, and it's not what you may think I mean. When I talk about how the system works, I mean how it actually works (i.e. knowing what people/school systems actually want out of you like mentality or demeanor), not the traditional concept of how it works (i.e. thinking that people/school systems want good grades/exam scores from you). If that were the case, then what society has told us about and A's and F's since we were little would be absolutely true: that if we don't get A's then we're failures. But of course that isn't true. At least not fully in my opinion. I mean, what do you think? Are
your current grades and exam scores really a true reflection of your actual potential or intelligence? What about your past grades? I think most people would agree that they aren't, but...I suppose that doesn't really mean much in the grand scheme of things. Because in the grand scheme of things, life
is all about our success in the system. So, in a culturally reinforced kind of way, I guess this traditional concept is true...but only insofar as the non-traditional concept is true, as well.
Our success in the system is heavily dependent on both our academic success and personal success. At least that's what should be the case. And I know what you're thinking: "did she totally just switch her argument?" To which I reply, "no." I still stand by what I said when I said that how the system actually works is by knowing what people and school systems want from you. It's just that this traditional view is true, too. I just personally think that it's more important to be accomplished in this non-traditional view than to be accomplished academically; yet, also knowing at the same time that good grades do play a large factor in an individual's success (granted that their end-goals require modern education). This is why I think college is just a game. I don't think that you have to be the best student academically to attain the kind of success that you want for yourself; you just need to understand what is expected and desired from you and to be able to deliver it.
I think you definitely have a point that college is just a game. I mean there is a whole economy out there devoted to improving SAT scores. Whoever has the most money wins! Yet, it is a loss to categorize all academics as a system. While the end result can be looked at as a sorting system, it is also an amazing opportunity to learn about different views and about the world.
ReplyDeleteAnd, it is actually a pretty natural process that college has developed to be seen as a sorting system. After the industrial revolution, employers had to have a way of sorting out who they wanted as employees based on grades. Soon enough, people caught on and realized good grades was integral to good jobs. And that's where we are now.
That being said, I agree with you that now we have evolved to admire those that have had success in a non-traditional manor (i.e. Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, etc.) It is amazing when people defy the system and end up becoming role models in modern society. Especially when resumes are becoming more important and graduate degrees are a must.
It is unfortunate that college has been come to thought of a game, because it really is an amazing opportunity, but it is the natural progression following how our society has evolved.
Dominique,
ReplyDeleteA couple things:
I’m unsure if I’m right in my interpretation of your statement that how the “system actually works is by knowing what people and school systems want from you.” This is a vague statement, and actualization is a huge part after recognition (which you actually identify in your last sentence). My interpretation of your non-traditional view is the same as your traditional view. What people and school systems want from us are our ability, and this is best revealed by our grades. Thus we must know that people and school systems want good grades, and actualizing on this is the same as academic success. Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong in this assertion.
You also define success by receiving an A and failure as not receiving an A. Grades are on a scale and a B is by no means a failure, nor has society deemed it so.
You say grades don’t matter in the grand scheme of things because “life is all about our success in the system.” The problem with this argument is that grades do determine our success in the system. When applying for graduate school or a job, GPA is often the most important aspect. Grades generally are a good assessor of potential and intelligence, or that’s at least what the system believes. This connects back to what I said in my first paragraph.
Lastly, from what I took away from your post is that you believe grades do have some importance when it comes to college, but they are not the most important thing. To you, the non-traditional concept’ is pretty important too, but you never clarify what these people and systems want from us. That’s why I just assumed it is grades, but you seem to think otherwise. What is it?
Dominique,
ReplyDeleteI agree with your view on an undergraduate education. In high school, people were always working towards college, knowing that grades were ultimately what would gain them acceptance to the college or university of their choice. Yet once here, grades do not seem as important.
However, I do not think that “game” and “joke” are two words that can be used simultaneously in this context. In my experience, high school was more of a “game” than college. Not only were people so concerned with earning good grades (getting the most points), but also by the end of senior year, students had learned how to “play the game.” Students knew which classes and teachers to take, which assignments were important, which classes could be skipped. The student body had learned exactly how little work was necessary to get an A, and how far they could push their teachers.
I understand that I am only a sophomore and therefore cannot completely make this comparison, but I feel that high school was more of a “game” because we were working towards an ultimate goal—college. In college, unless applying to a graduate program, grades do not matter as much because “C’s get degrees.” I can see why you would therefore call an undergraduate education a “joke.” Even though a C- in college is a lot different from a C- in high school in that it requires much more time and effort, I agree with this statement in that this mentality promotes laziness and takes away from the importance of getting good grades.
For many people, I feel as though high school is a “game” because it is necessary to do well in order to get into a good college, and college is a “joke” because grades do not need to be taken as seriously since there is a good chance that getting a degree will be an end to their formal education. Like you said, why stress over getting good grades when a C- is all you need to get that degree?
Dominique,
ReplyDeleteI was intrigued by your claim that our personal success is necessary in order to obtain academic success. You seemed to argue that in order to successfully play the "game" of college one must first identify what a college is looking for in its students, then they will be able to pursue good grades and a high GPA.
Therefore,personal success is the mentality and demeanor with which you approach things (more of a way of thinking) and academic success is your grades and GPA.
This is in opposition to the more traditional method where students that pursue their academic success firstly will ultimately gain personal success. Grades and GPA would then be considered the method for which personal success is achieved (again, by personal success I mean the mentality and demeanor that you approach things).
It seems to me that if you think about it, the method that you suggest would actually be more beneficial. If one puts their personal success before garnering academic success they will have a more complete picture of how to navigate their college education. "It's a lot easier to hit a target when you know what your aiming for" type of thing.
In this sense, college is a game, but I wouldn't say its a joke. Students have to be able to figure out what their university considers personal success and pursue that fully, which is much more challenging than the already predetermined standards of academic success. Once you figure out how to be personally successful you get to move on to level two and apply that in the classroom and life.
Dominique,
ReplyDeleteI believe that bring forth many good points in this post. College is almost a game, where grades and GPA determine your worth in society as soon as you exit those college gates. You suggest that perhaps the system shouldn't completely rely on this view, and that personal success should also be used as a measure of your success in the system. Should a person's success really be measured on one test of intelligence? I personally have friends that understand material, are able to apply it in relevant situations, but when it comes to tests they just aren't good at performing. Should test taking ability really determine a person's success in life? But at the same time the traditional system as you call it should also not be completely done away with either. The traditional system does have merit, but perhaps needs modifying so that it is able to better assess the "intelligence" of an individual.
Kevin,
I understand what you are saying but I don't think I agree with all of it. Just because an individual understands how to be "personally successful" doesn't mean that can necessarily translate into academic success. Just because an individual "knows what they are aiming for" does that mean they can now achieve academic success? Just because you have a goal does not mean you will reach it. Perhaps I am misunderstanding your point.
Abhilash,
DeleteNo, I totally agree with what you are saying. Just because you are personally successful does not guarantee you will be academically successful. I was merely suggesting that if you become personally successful it can be helpful in your pursuit of academic success. As opposed to the other way around where you can get really good grades by "playing the game", but never learn to alter your way of thinking or mentality towards the world.
Dominique,
ReplyDeleteI do have to agree with your point about overachievers. I know of a friend who spends all his time in the library (now that the library is open 24/7, it pretty much excited him i guess) even during school breaks. Sometimes we wonder what's there to study during summer break when all classes have ended and fall you'll pick new classes. I guess some people just want to prepare ahead? Personally i feel that it is their choice, its good that they are very motivated to get straight As. Afterall, I too want the As but there got to be more to life than that. I know i have other pursuits and maybe some classes are just not your thing, so sometimes do acknowledge the fact that you can't do perfect for everything (well, some genius can, im not sadly.)
Yes, college is game of strategy - to study smart and balance study and play. I highly value the building of portfolio because the trend is that academic is no longer the only determination of your personal calibre. I don't think we should get ourselves lost in the paper chase because no, grades don't determine everything. we have to recognize the fact that people have different talents and not all are cut to excel academically. That is why we have vocational training schools. We are all smart in different aspects. Example, sports, music and we should not penalized them just because they don't meet the society's expectation of doing well in academic.
That being said, college is important for self-discovery and improvement. definitely don't think its a joke because the reality is that the society deem it a golden path to our future. With more optimism, maybe you'll gain more out of college. I still think academic success is the priority. It is an important factor but never a sufficient one to achieve success.
Dominique,
ReplyDeleteI agree, to a certain extent, with your view on an undergraduate education. In high school, students were always working towards college. We all knew that grades were ultimately what would gain us acceptance to the college or university of our choice. Yet once here, grades do not seem as important, for most people. It’s important to point out that not everyone has the luxury of sleeping during class.
For some people, grades at the undergraduate level are actually important. If we want to move on to a higher education, the main thing schools look to evaluate is your grades. Do I believe this is the right thing to do, NO! however, there aren’t very many alternatives so grades are still very important. These “overachievers” that you poke fun at are probably students who are working there (insert explicit word here) so that they can get into graduate schools like law medicine or business.
I will agree with you that college is a game, but I wouldn't say its a joke. Students have to be able to figure out what their university considers personal success and pursue that fully. I have no idea what I want to do in life, this is more challenging than the already predetermined standards of academic success! Also, I’d like to see the reaction of parents if you tell them that your college education is a “joke.”
Just as others have discussed the goal oriented nature of higher education, I disagree with some aspects of it, though sadly it is the predominant ideology that students have embraced, either consciously or subconsciously.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy your metaphor of college existing as a game through which students are participants, completing tasks (e.g. courses and requirements) to progress and eventually, reach an end goal (i.e. a degree). in moving toward an end goal, higher education certainly mimics a common characteristic of game: the end goal is all the same regardless of the path taken to achieve the goal. it's true that some individuals may be slackers, some may be overachievers but both may end up with the same end result, a degree.
However, a degree is not the only end goal associated with the game that is higher education. What about grades, experiences, extracurriculars. A lot of different metrics and experiences are indicative of the path taken to obtaining a degree. In the grand scale of life, higher education is but one optional task to achieve some imaginable and entirely ambiguous end goal.
While the end goal of achieving a degree may be indicative of an education system that does not fulfill the needs of its students nor society itself, the end goal becomes irrelevant as more tasks are accomplished in life. During the first few jobs an individual holds, the degree and associated metrics such as GPA are highly valued and important, but as time goes on, the value of such end goals and the path become more irrelevant as the number of experiences grow.
Thus, treating higher education as a game seems to me, a foolish endeavor. In keeping their eyes upon the end goal and remaining oblivious to the value of the paths taken to achieve said end goal, individuals who prescribe to the game ideology are shorting themselves in their post-college lives. Similarly, striving for some end goal in life in the game of life is striving for death.
Maybe college just needs to stress the importance of students "stopping to smell the roses."