A revolution in dependence
The discussion on grade inflation and the leaked list of our 4.0 peers have evoked a variety of responses, from lament and whining about the “high” percentage, to the more dismissive apathy of “who cares?”
But I am outraged. And not at grade inflation. No, I am outraged at how low the number is. I want all my of peers to get all A’s. I am not saying that grade inflation is good. Neither am I saying the University should just hand us all unblemished report cards for simply being here. Rather I want to see my fellow undergraduates earning exceptional grades. I want to be enrolled in a University where every single student has worked hard, has earnestly engaged with material, has contributed to the life of classroom, and has thus, for lack a better word and system, “earned” an A.
In thinking about the current revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia, we are prompted to engage in more serious conversation about our own revolutions needed on campus.
One could argue revolt is needed against a variety of ills at Columbia: hipster-dom, dirty snow, dining hall policies, and shoddy infrastructure (to the loose tiles on College Walk, I’m talking to you. And the dirty snow next to the loose tile onto which I faceplanted, I’m talking to you too).
The revolt I’m imaging is against something more serious and more pervasive. See, I want our undergraduate community to be just that: a community, of healthy, intelligent, innovative high achievers. So I want to see a revolt against an undergraduate culture of independent self-interest, against the competitive focus on relative gain, against the notion of ‘the more people who do poorly the better off I’ll be!’ This is not the ideal of an Ivy League academic. We should not base the definitions of our own self-worth and success upon the failures and unsucess, both real and perceived, of our peers. We are better than that.
So here is a call for revolution. For a revolution that demands and creates a campus of spirited interaction, and of cooperative engagement. This is a call for tireless dedication, action, and enthusiasm toward flourishing mutually. This call has been made before. We are a University with a storied legacy of rebellion and communal action. But current economic, social, and political climates of fear and uncertainty require even more immediate action. We must no longer succumb to the banality of evil that resides in our own vanity.
Caroline Blosser is a Spectrum opinion blogger. She likes to be cheeky. She is also a ninja.
is spectrum’s content so terrible this semester. bring back whoever was doing it before
your comment pretty much just reinforced the point of this post.
agree!
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In case you were wondering, HTML and Javascript don’t work in Spectrum comments.
:)
not everyone can do well because a curve makes everything relative?
regards,
common sense
BUT IF WE ACHIEVE!! then we will all get A’s, because the world is a perfect place where people always get what they deserve
please take a class in economics. they should really incorporate that into the core. it teaches you more about our society than anything else.
ever wonder why diamonds are so valued? because it’s rare. An A will not have its value if everyone gets an A.
diamonds are not rare. in fact, the real reason why diamonds are so valued are because we’ve been brainwashed by the diamond industry to think that they exist in limited quantities.
But if everyone gets A’s then no one gets A’s
grading by comparison, by relativity doesn’t have to be the only rubrik- you can use an absolute rubrik. who decided that grading would even be on a curve in the first place? this is a very american concept. as a british student, I think curves are non sense.
cringe.
So you want everyone to be robots?
SHE WAS BEING CHEEKY! HELLO!
i can’t believe all you were “inspired” to do after reading about the protests in the middle east is whine about grades. seriously? if you had any self-respect, you’d hate yourself right now.
This post is about A LOT more than grades- did you even read it? She makes a deeper point- and I agree with it
they call it grade “inflation.”
We really need to start incorporating Principles of Economics into the core. Damn son.