Grades are not just given to student by the teachers, but rather earned by the student. That is the basic idea of this article and I wholeheartedly agree with that. I believe that it is the duty of the student to make sure that they get all the work done on time and to the best of their ability. The ability of each individual student is the reason grades are given in the first place. If every student was only graded on whether or not they turned in an assignment on time, where would the learning process be? What would be the purpose of even trying to do well on the assignment? There would be no drive and school would just be a big joke.
During the course of the semester, all the students at Biola are given homework so they can learn how to apply what they learn in the classroom. If the students do not try their best, they should be given a lower grade than those who tried their best just as a general rule of common sense.
Professor Grossman, however, takes this idea to the extreme. He basically says that everyone should get the average grade if they only do exactly as they are told. Although this may apply in some cases where the assignment involves creativity, such as English, it would be completely unreasonable in other instances, like Math. In English, there is normally more than one answer and requires a certain amount of creativity to complete any assignment. However, in Math, there is only one right answer. How reasonable would it be to give out the "average" grade on a math assignment? It would be completely unreasonable because there is no way to go above and beyond on a math assignment. If Professor Grossman believes that getting an A is a 'sense of entitlement" that his students have, he needs to think again. If his students try their personal best, they deserve an above average grade and vice-versa. That is not a sense of entitlement, but rather common sense and universal understanding.
James Hogge's theory that students believe that "if [they] work hard, [they] deserve a high grade" is completely true. That is the mentality that we were taught to believe growing up. If grades are not given on effort and outcome, then they are merely worthless participation points.
In this class, this semester, we, as the students, should do our best and you, as the teacher, should give us the grade we earn, not the grade you think we deserve. There is a big difference sometimes. This is also how it should be throughout our college experience. We should be graded based on our effort and ability, not just timeliness and completion, or anything else, for that matter. This is already the idea we have grown to know and understand so why reinvent the wheel?
