College Education

     If I were a teacher, how would I view an A? An A is a letter of excellence and represents a person who works hard not only to achieve the grade, but understands the meaning behind it. In school, because I realized my parents would never be able to assist me financially If I decided to attend college, I never applied myself to my schoolwork. Because I originated from a large, poor family, I also felt that people associated poor with stupidity and so I was rarely encouraged by anyone, outside my own family, to do well.

     Alicia Shepard’s article A’s for Everyone! (2008) describes how students argue that A’s should be awarded to students who work hard and that B’s are no longer celebrated. Ms. Shepard also asserts that parents add to a student’s anxiety by pressuring their children to do better (pp. 417-422).

     Ms. Shepard states that “Many students believe that simply working hard–though not necessarily doing excellent work– entitles them to an A” (pp. 418). I agree with the students who believe A’s should be awarded to hard workers, but does not the grade received also not reflect the amount of effort a student exerts in order to achieve that grade? I do not know about other students, but I am proud of having earned an A based solely upon my own merits. I do not desire an A merely to remain in an honors program. I grew up in poverty and I am still in poverty, so, to me, an A symbolizes a step away from poverty and all those people who associate poverty with stupidity. An A means obtaining a job in which I do not continually have to count my pennies or tell my children they cannot have a certain toy because it is too expensive.

     As a parent, I sometimes pressure my children to do better, but I am just as happy when they recieve a B as an A. I do not want my children to feel pressured or discourage them from achieving better grades. I am more concerned that my children understand what they are learning and are stimulated enough to be willing to expand and expound upon that knowledge with a curiosity to learn more. I want my children to pick up a book and read it without anyone coaxing them into reading it.