The pervasive culture of entitlement that teaches us mantras about the world owing us something has gained momentum in Canada's universities. (Jarret (KerPlonka) also comments on this story) A study of 400 undergraduate students revealed that about a third of students believe they deserve a grade B if they attended most classes and/or completed most of the reading, or feel short-changed on the grades they get on assignments. Between a sixth and a quarter have been led to believe professors have to fir their own commitments and business around students' schedules and plans. Seriously, what the fuzz is this?
Education is not about sitting on one's backside listening to the prof. Being educated means accumulating knowledge, understanding it and knowing how to use it. Just being present and having read the stuff doesn't mean you should get a passing grade, let alone a B. These attitudes drag down the standards of any educational institution's graduates, plunging the entire degree course and degree category into irrelevance.
When grades are too easy an A stops meaning "outstanding". When no-one can fail everyone gets a Bachelor's, thus the value of a B.Sc. or a B.A. asymptotically approaches zero. Entitlement leads to mediocrity, particularly in areas where human beings are naturally prone to competing and excelling.
A message to all entitled student princesses out there. I've had my fair share of outstanding profs and mediocre ones. I saw profs who were geniuses with decades-long experiences be completely out-of-touch with a class, while newly-hired fresh-out-of-PhD lecturers energized the audience and taught almost perfectly. I know of profs in Italy who are proud of being unreachable except by paper mail and profs who check e-mails ten times a day.
But I never for one moment believed to be entitled to a pass just for being there. If I ever asked for extenuating circumstances I made sure my motives were bomb-proof, and yet I still felt a slight guilt for inconveniencing the prof. I studied hard for my exams and cried over some assignments. I showed effort by submitting the best possible work and attempting many solutions for a question I didn't understand. And I ultimately loved my uni experience and what I learned.
My father had to fight leftard slackers during his time, who advocated "common grades" for the entire class (everyone is awarded the average grade) and the "political 18" which meant everyone passed, no matter what. Today's entitlement princesses are no different.
It saddens me that more and more people of my age would rather weasel their way into merit rather than earn it by getting off their backsides and looking up the true meaning of the word "effort" in the dictionary.
4 comments:
The sad thing is this attitude starts WAY before University. Kids in elementary and jr. high school are no longer able to fail. They are never kept back a grade despite being woefully unprepared for the next level because being held back while their friends go forward might be "upsetting".
We're encouraging generations of mediocrity... and when Canada drops in world standing due to lack of outstanding talent in industry and research the only ones we can blame are ourselves for accepting the coddling of our kids.
I see this in the workplace as well. Younger employees, often fresh out of school, frequently feel they're entitled to big pay raises just because they believe in their own minds that they're worth it. More experienced staff tend to have a much better understanding of their own abilities, limitations, contributions and worth. There are exceptions to this, but that is my general observation over my time in business.
So before these 'entitled' students leave the sheltered world of academia, they should try to 'educate' themselves on the way the world really works. Because in business, you don't get pay increases and promotions because of good attendance--you also need to perform well and contribute positively to the organization. It shouldn't be any different in university.
You know.. I hate to say it, but there is an upside. The refusal of the current crop of graduates to make sacrifices to succeed will, ultimately, prove beneficial to those of us who do understand work ethic.
Picture, if you will, a seasoned professional athlete, say, Muhammad Ali in his prime, entering the ring with, say, Jack Layton.. and you get the idea.
It will definitely benefit the hard workers, but the country overall will suffer. If education were private this wouldn't be an issue. But since public money is being poured into the system, it needs to serve the interest of the country as well as the ones of the hard-working students.
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