posted April 23, 2014 09:11 PM            

Maybe I'm a little too carefree or something lately, but I've reached a point where my only goal is to graduate so I can do what I love and that's it. My gpa isn't going to teach a classroom full of kids nor does it define what type of person I am. I could care less about stressing and trying to maintain a really high gpa so my family or strangers will "think highly of me". Seeing people my age gets so stressed out that it affects them mentally, emotionally, and even physically over classes (especially those that aren't even related to their major) is saddening. Are grades really that important? How do you feel about grades and gpa?

posted April 23, 2014 09:22 PM            

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posted April 23, 2014 09:25 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Ami Anne:
The other thing that really doesn't matter is how big a name your school had. This is so huge when you are applying to college like you will die if you don' t get your first choice. As you move on with life, it is not a part of you that defines you.

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This is why I wanted to go to a CC for my first 2 years and then transfer. Even though I absolutely love my college and I'm glad that I met all of the people that I have and had the opportunities I've had, I still kinda wish I just went the CC route. Especially with the price of tuition.

posted April 23, 2014 09:55 PM            

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posted April 23, 2014 10:00 PM            

Adderall

posted April 23, 2014 10:02 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Ami Anne:
Is this teaching English as a second language? Where do you want to go? I had a client who did this and was promised things and signed a contract and it was not as she was told and she was stuck. I can't remember the country. I want to say Thailand but I am not sure

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Korea, is my #1 goal. I've watched so many videos and read so many articles on doing TEFL there lol. They have GEPIK, EPIK, and other programs that you can go through that are well known and not shady. Ironically enough I just found out this year that my relocation NN is conjunct MC smack dab in South Korea lol.

I've also seen in a few posts on sites of people saying they didn't care for Thailand so you could be right.

posted April 23, 2014 10:07 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Kerosene:
One word.

Adderall

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That's pretty much synonymous with being a college student

posted April 23, 2014 10:22 PM            

It depends on what you want. Sometimes they matter a lot and sometimes not so much. Generally speaking I prefer kids take them more serious than they should rather than blow them off, but balance is preferable. As for college students, it's your money, do as your pride, life goals, etc, allow (keeping in mind that some schools are very competitive).

If I ever pursued higher education I'd definitely go the community college route, at least for the first 2 years. In that case I'd try for the highest possible grades just to be eligible for certain grants and scholarships. But given that this was started by an "if" then obviously it's not a big deal to me. My current plan is should I get old enough that it's free then I might go. My interests in education are about knowledge rather than accomplishment or career and so for me a library works just fine!

The people who stress too much on grades are the schools themselves. They'd actually have the higher grades that come from "memorize and forget" courses than actual education which is one reason why US schools are so behind many others in the world (interesting enough our first graders tend to be more educated than many others around the world, but lag woefully behind by high school). It's bad enough that it's common for those entering college to have to take "bonehead courses" (ie, remedial high school) before they can truly start.

posted April 23, 2014 10:59 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by PixieJane:
*Shrugs*

It depends on what you want. Sometimes they matter a lot and sometimes not so much. Generally speaking I prefer kids take them more serious than they should rather than blow them off, but balance is preferable. As for college students, it's your money, do as your pride, life goals, etc, allow (keeping in mind that some schools are very competitive).

If I ever pursued higher education I'd definitely go the community college route, at least for the first 2 years. In that case I'd try for the highest possible grades just to be eligible for certain grants and scholarships. But given that this was started by an "if" then obviously it's not a big deal to me. My current plan is should I get old enough that it's free then I might go. My interests in education are about knowledge rather than accomplishment or career and so for me a library works just fine!

The people who stress too much on grades are the schools themselves. They'd actually have the higher grades that come from "memorize and forget" courses than actual education which is one reason why US schools are so behind many others in the world (interesting enough our first graders tend to be more educated than many others around the world, but lag woefully behind by high school). It's bad enough that it's common for those entering college to have to take "bonehead courses" (ie, remedial high school) before they can truly start.

You might like this on schools and creativity by Ken Robinson:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY

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Yeah, I in no way mean to just blow them off. But I definitely don't see the point of stressing your body over a grade and a piece of paper.

And school really shouldn't cost as much as it does. I totally agree on the "Memorize and Forget" aspect to US education even now in college I expected it to be better but nope. So far its the same game, just a different name. And the bonehead courses are the worst. At my college we have "required" classes and they are different depending on your major and a friend of mine (who is an advertising major) is taking an "Integrative Arts & Humanities" course on insects... Yes, insects. And you know what the average gpa in that class is? 2.55...

Even though I plan on being a teacher myself (Elementary Ed), I agree that the American Education system needs a major make-over.

If I could just take classes right off the bat that are geared towards what I want to do in life I'd be fine. But to basically wait 2 years until you really get into the stuff you're interested in is crazy. Not to mention it's bad enough that so many people have little to no idea about the possibilities of what they could do in life because in high school they barely prepare you or provide sufficient information about possible careers and majors even though high school is supposed to help "prepare" you for college and beyond. So then you end up with people who just "pick" majors and stick with them only to end up unhappy but it's too late to even bother switching it.

Also,great video, I've read a few articles that express the same views .

posted April 24, 2014 01:26 AM            

To me it is absolutely everything.

posted April 24, 2014 01:32 AM            

Why would you edit? Because you disagree with all of us? (In that case then why post at all?)

I think it's worth leaving. Six planets in Capricorn sound like an interesting reason that could account for it, too. (If you edit out our stellium there I'll edit my mentioning it as well.)

posted April 24, 2014 01:34 AM            

Although sometimes I don't really agree with the teaching, it's hard to just focus on the getting good grades. But yeah, I don't really have a choice.

posted April 24, 2014 03:21 AM            

quote:

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Originally posted by PixieJane:
*Shrugs*

It depends on what you want. Sometimes they matter a lot and sometimes not so much

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posted April 24, 2014 09:15 AM            

quote:

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Originally posted by aquaguy91:
The whole U.S educational system is a joke. That includes elementary, high school,and college/ university. Imo college is just a money racket... They make you pay ridiculous amounts of money just to get in and then you have to pay for the books and class materials on top of that. That is complete bullsh*t imo! If you are already paying thousands on tuition and room and board your books and classroom materials should be provided for you. Its all about them making money.

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posted April 24, 2014 11:09 AM            

quote:

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Originally posted by CatMote:
yeah, it depends on what you are going for.
a person in the teaching program wouldnt be able to get in to ANY teaching with a bad GPA, but like the acting program IM in i couldnt give less cares about my GPA.
my belief is that grades do not define intelligence. grades are simply a measurement in how well you do in a class, which usually has some sort of bias teaching method and only teaches you WHAT to think and not HOW to think.

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posted April 24, 2014 11:09 AM            

quote:

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Originally posted by aquaguy91:
The whole U.S educational system is a joke. That includes elementary, high school,and college/ university. Imo college is just a money racket... They make you pay ridiculous amounts of money just to get in and then you have to pay for the books and class materials on top of that. That is complete bullsh*t imo! If you are already paying thousands on tuition and room and board your books and classroom materials should be provided for you. Its all about them making money. And why should you spend the first couple of years taking bullsh*t courses that arent even relevant to your major? Its all bullsh*t ! Imo education needs to go to a more hands on approach. You should be getting more hands on training in your chosen career field and less pointless book work assignments. Thats just my 2 cents on the matter.

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posted April 24, 2014 11:50 AM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Sibyl:
Swift Freeze, I can't tell you how much I disagree with your post. First of all you don't get good grades by having a good memory, allot more goes into it than that. Secondly, a blind date number 2 will with good grades will win over a blind date 2 with bad grades any day. There is nothing to indicate a person with good grades would be stand-offish and boring. Quite the contrary, you don't get through all the work good grades require without a passion for your subject. If you have passion why wouldn't you be able to get it together and work hard for the grades? This indicates laziness.

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Just want to clarify that when I talk about not stressing over grades, I don't mean that I'm just not going to care at all... What I'm saying is if I don't get a 4.0, It's not the end of the world. I guess Bill Gates and Steve Jobs were lazy too since they didn't even bother "working for their grades" and just dropped out altogether... Having good grades does not equal a lack of passion in what you want to do in life and again they won't teach you all of the ins and outs of working in your field.

I've always been a "good kid" and I've always loved learning. I got "good grades", always behaved, and even self disciplined myself when I got a bad grade from the early age of 6 (literally would tap my head because I was behind reading in class and I wanted to do better and I eventually did). My mom never had to really get on me about good grades because I had already made it a point to do so from a young age.

I did "good" in high school and even set out and accomplished maintaining above a 3.5 my whole career. Which ultimately, helped me get into a really nice "well known" college and get scholarships and grants based off of my grades.

But, as of now? The way I see things is that at the end of the day, your gpa does not and will not define you. Yeah, it can help in getting a job sure, but even today that's not guaranteed. A piece of paper and a gpa isn't going to teach you how to correctly do your job. That's why employers want to know about what you've done besides school. Have a 4.0 and you're valedictorian? Oh that's nice but have you ever had a job? Do you work well in a diverse environment and in a team setting? Do you know how to think and act on your feet without someone telling you what you should think and do? That's what DF is getting at about people who only pursue getting the best grades without much focus on anything else, I can tell you time and time again that big time employers don't just look at your gpa and go "Oh they got a 4.0? HIRED".

And if you can remember each and everything that you learned growing up in the courses you aced then I commend you but from what I've seen and personally experienced, it is more so about memorization than actually retaining information.

Take standardized tests for example. Kids cram and cram and cram to learn this specific lesson in order to ultimately do well on a test that "measures" their intelligence and compares it to their peers and kids around the nation. When you ask your teacher "Why do I need to know this?" you're often told "so that you can get good grades" but really it's so that you can score well on a test. That's pretty much what elementary, middle, and high school gears you towards. Year after year creaming over a set amount of information to take test after test until you get good enough at the "memorization game" that you take the "big" test that factors into what college you're accepted into.

Heck, I took French 1 & 2 in high school and got an A throughout the class and I still can barely tell you more than a few phrases and the alphabet despite the fact that I would study (read: "memorize") all of the words I needed to know before each test.