Drive for grades blinds student learning
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One of the primary goals of a student is to do well in high school so that they may leave with knowledge that will help them in the future. This would be an ideal situation; however, students nowadays are too caught up in their own personal goals and instead focus on the thing that matters to them the most: their grades.
It is one thing to fully understand the content, but it is another to simply pass the class with a good grade. By putting in effort to properly study and remember valuable life lessons that were taught to them, students can leave high school with a variety of different skills that they may apply to life outside of school. English skills are enhanced, sciences can provide a better understanding of the world, and other subjects can provide their own benefits in life. Even math, which is misconceived as a bothersome subject, can help improve students’ critical thinking and application skills. Students can apply this newfound knowledge to the outside world and be able to improve themselves and be well prepared for their futures.
However, when students are too focused on trying to obtain a desirable grade, they draw less on the subject material and more on ways to pass the class. Students are too absorbed into a cycle of going to class, learning the subject, passing the class and forgetting the content until it is retaught or lost in the back of their minds. The mindset of trying to earn a grade involves endless stacks of worksheets and pointless tests, which causes students to develop a drone-like behavior. Students, as a result, are thrown into society with no remembrance of what they have learned and end up wasting knowledge that could have been useful for their future.
Basic life skills such as communication and teamwork are also an adaptation of early learning in a student’s life. When forgotten, this disables future citizens from working in a professional environment that would require necessary skills. Although it is true that school subjects may not teach these kinds of skills specifically, but students can learn from these lessons indirectly. For example, group projects may not tell you directly to work well with others but learning how to cooperate is important to succeeding and preparing students for the future.
Beyond an evaluation standpoint, retaining information can be very impactful on a student’s future in the real world, more than some might believe. Being informed and ready to learn can be helpful in life as students are more knowledgeable about politics, society and the world. Students should push themselves to learn and retain the information taught to them, so that they can take one step closer to becoming better members of society.
