Report Card =/= Value as a Human Being
These things actually ruin lives!!
Student A and Student B take the SAT, which is supposed to be a telling of his intelligence. An academic IQ test. Student A and Student B both have SAT books to study from. Student A reads the book cover to cover 20 times prior to the test. Student B uses it as a paper weight. They take the test. Student A gets a 1080 and Student B gets a 1270. Mind you Student B didn’t study at all. Take a stab at what the two Students’ GPAs are.
Student A: 3.8 Unweighted
Student B: 2.6 Unweighted
Student B would be me. I have a 2.6 GPA and live in a lower middle class family (which means scholarships are a must-have-but-can’t-reach). It is obviously not because I don’t understand the material, on the contrary, I understand it well. What is the cause of all of this? Well, first off I must blame myself for not working hard enough. Secondly, I live in Kissimmee, Florida, home to hicks and people who can’t read english let alone teach it. I know it is the classic excuse to blame my teachers but I think I have some kind of credibility coming from a school district where the average school grade is a D+. Not all of my teachers are below par, just a select few who have no business doing what they are doing. Lastly, and this is only a minor factor, we start school at 7 30 in the morning. The classes that I usually have low marks on are my 1-3 period classes.
I could keep on complaining but the fact of the matter is is that I am a Senior in High School and it doesn’t matter who is at fault; what matters is that I am in this situation. It is just an extreme injustice to think that there are geniuses in this world who can’t go anywhere because they are judged based on their GPA. They aren’t looked at for the fact that they aced their SATs without breaking a sweat. They are put into the same category as the idiots who can’t read Dr. Seuss books correctly (again, I live in Kissimmee, Florida, I am NOT exaggerating). Why do grades=a person’s value to society? This should be a system that is changed, so the right people get scholarships and go to college while the rest can stay where they belong: bumming off of Daddy’s many resources or popping pills on their stoops.
Vince said,
August 9, 2008 at 1:44 pm
Hicks? I happen to have been born in this city.
claytonguiltner said,
August 13, 2008 at 5:03 pm
I understand here you are coming from Rog. I must defend the teachers, having been one myself, I do not place any blame on teachers, even the bad ones and I know there are some bad ones). They are overworked and underpaid, and most of all…under appreciated.
Having said that, I will say that you and I are a lot like. In high school, I was an average student with a basic “c” average most of the time. It was not due to my lack of intelligence, but more my lack of motivation to learn. I too came from a lower middle class family. I received a few small scholarships based on need and my talents in theatre. Even though I did not get many scholarships, I still pursued college. I qualified for federal student loans – which helped me pay for college. True, I will paying off loans for years to come, but my education has enabled me to do what I love and get paid for it – without my education, I would not be able to have a career doing what I love.
I am amazed at how many students think they cannot go to college if they don’t get scholarships or a full ride. There are more ways to skin a cat – and college is possible for ANYONE who has a desire to go.
On a side note – though I was a “c” student in high school, I maintained very high grades in college, and graduated with honors (cum laude) – and since going on to graduate school have never made less than an “A” in any class. I guess knowing that I am paying for it gives me more motivation to work hard.