Tuesday, April 8, 2014
Advice?
This blog is quite different than my other ones. I am hoping that you might comment with some advice. Today in class we heard that Meredyth's dilemma regarding undeserved A's. I hope to address a different sort of dilemma. In the past, I've understood material very well and enjoyed learning it, but have received poor grades on assessments. In particular, I remember doing poorly in physics on two tests in junior year, even though I enjoyed and understood the material. I understood my mistakes well after getting the test back. The dilemma - although I enjoyed learning the physics, I came out of the experience with a bitter taste in my mouth. What would be a beneficial way of approaching these situations? It's difficult to appreciate the learning experience when it seemingly has not payed off. I understand that I should attempt to look past the grades, but this is extremely difficult considering how I have been conditioned to approach them. Thanks in advance for any responses!
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I can definitely relate to the issue you're addressing, although perhaps from the opposite perspective as far as math and the hard sciences are concerned. I consider myself a relatively good test taker, (probably like most everyone here at Hamilton) but I have always struggled with feeling guilty for doing better in a class where I know others have understood the material way better than me. Just in my personal experiences with my friends and classmates, I have found that often times those who understand and enjoy the material best, sometimes don't do as well as they would like because they miss the little details. They're so good at grasping big concepts and relating one concept to the next that they forget about the little things that a teacher might put on a test.
ReplyDeleteA friend of mine told me today, "Learn for the sake of learning, and the grades will follow." I totally agree with what he says, and that seems to be what you are doing, but maybe it's the little details or facts or equations or that one thing your teacher said in class that sometimes trip you up. I could be totally wrong, maybe that's not the case for you at all, but it's the best explanation I could come up with. I'm not going to tell you to look past the grade completely, because I don't think it's that easy to do--specially when you seem to understand the material so well. However, I do think you should keep doing what you're doing, but put the pieces together and figure out if there's some connection that could explain what it is that causes you to not do as well as you would like to.
I completely understand what it feels like to be disappointed in a grade when you feel it doesn't reflect your understanding or knowledge of the material. I have found that it helps to remind myself that one grade on a test, or even a grade in a class, will leave no real lasting impact on my life. If you genuinely enjoyed a class and feel like you got something out of it, that is what you will remember and what will still leave an impact on you 5,10,15 years from now. Even though grades feel important now, in the long run they really won't be. When I'm stressed, I find it helpful to keep this in mind. Hope this helps!
ReplyDeleteI've actually struggling with a similar dilemma. Regardless of what kind of student you are, I think everyone has, at some point in their education, has that bitter taste, the bitterness of receiving a grade that they didn't believe reflected their understanding of the topic or that they weren't satisfied with. It has certainly happened to me and for a while, it was really hard for me to get past it. In high school, I learned to let those "bad" grades slide a bit and to simply take them as a learning experience to improve next time. Yet even now, as a freshman in college, I still, to some extent, cling to grades as an indication of my performance.
ReplyDeleteHowever, that bitterness is merely the product of a number. One of the many things this class has taught us is that numbers can never never truly represent the real value of our education. Our education is about becoming true thinkers that instinctively question the world around us. Janelle constantly challenges us to do this rather than blindly accept things as they seem. Thus, our education is not about the numbers or the GPA, but rather our personal growth and achievement. After all, you're not going to look back on your time here at Hamilton and marvel at the glory of grades. Instead, you're going to remember who you have become and what you have done to make your education an active part of your life.
Obviously, this is easier said than done. Trust me, I know. I'm struggling with the same idea with the blog self-grade. Either way, my advice would be to view your education as a process of personal growth and not as a game of who can get the highest grade because in the end, the numbers will fall away, but who you have become will always stay with you.
By the way, great use of the blog! I think the blog is most useful in situations like this when the course presents us with dilemmas in our own lives that we need some advice on. Great job taking advantage of this opportunity.
As everyone who has commented on this post already said, I completely understand what you're saying. In high school there was a constant pressure to get the grades, AP scores, and SAT/ACT scores to get into a good college. In college, that pressure is still present to succeed, with success mostly defined as good grades. For me, college was a big transition from high school because I realized I was going to have to put a lot more time and work to get decent grades. I found it so frustrating that I would work my ass off for a class, then still not do great, or as good as my friends.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if I have a ton of advice, but I compare myself (specifically my grades) to others way too much, and I just need to remind myself that school is not going to be the same for everyone. As long as you enjoy growing as a learner and furthering your education here at Hamilton, you're succeeding.
I think all of us have gotten to this point in our lives because grades have been such a focus for us. Through high school making the grade was so eminent because we needed to get here. Now that we are here, maybe its time to trust that our general love for learning and education will bring us where we need to be. I myself am having a hard time with class registration coming up deciding which directions I need to take in my academics to get me to the next step. Maybe its time to sit back and enjoy the step I'm on and others will follow. I think if you truly enjoy the material you are working with everything else will fall into line, including your grades.
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