There is no question that the American education system is flawed and is not the most effective to teach students a broad range of academic subjects. Students are graded on the ability to reproduce knowledge onto a piece of paper after days, weeks, or months of studying a topic. The lack of this ability results in failure to earn a passing grade in the subject matter. If the student can reproduce the desired knowledge at a highly proficient rate, they receive a rating that distinguishes them from other students. In “A Young Person’s Guide to the Grading System,” an article written by Jerry Farber, a professor of English at the University of California at San Diego, the grading system is put at fault for the flawed educational system. His radical
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One of his largest points in his article is using the comparison of students to slaves. Multiple times in his article he uses this comparison to show that students may not have the free-will to make their own education decisions. In the next paragraph, Farber continues with the statement, “Learning happens when you want to know.” He believes that students will only give effort if they already enjoying the topic. Farber uses this reasoning to connect forgetting content with being graded in class. He goes on to explain that people learn when they are self-disciplined and not when coerced into “years of force-fed” information. Again he compares students to slaves due to their laziness; “Do you think you’re a lazy student? No wonder! Slaves are almost always lazy.” Faber continues with solutions to the grading system such as getting rid of it completely and then using screening and various other qualification methods. He starts focusing on the hiring process and discourages using grades to hire a candidate but instead using exams and …show more content…
The entire article can be summed down into one phrase: “Everyone is equal so treat them equally.” Students are taught a specific concept and then are expected to reproduce the knowledge that they have gained. The grades that are given on tests illustrate how well a student is retaining the taught knowledge during the specific course. The grades are not given to students to teach them the course work but are given to show the students and others how well the student does at displaying their
One of his largest points in his article is using the comparison of students to slaves. Multiple times in his article he uses this comparison to show that students may not have the free-will to make their own education decisions. In the next paragraph, Farber continues with the statement, “Learning happens when you want to know.” He believes that students will only give effort if they already enjoying the topic. Farber uses this reasoning to connect forgetting content with being graded in class. He goes on to explain that people learn when they are self-disciplined and not when coerced into “years of force-fed” information. Again he compares students to slaves due to their laziness; “Do you think you’re a lazy student? No wonder! Slaves are almost always lazy.” Faber continues with solutions to the grading system such as getting rid of it completely and then using screening and various other qualification methods. He starts focusing on the hiring process and discourages using grades to hire a candidate but instead using exams and …show more content…
The entire article can be summed down into one phrase: “Everyone is equal so treat them equally.” Students are taught a specific concept and then are expected to reproduce the knowledge that they have gained. The grades that are given on tests illustrate how well a student is retaining the taught knowledge during the specific course. The grades are not given to students to teach them the course work but are given to show the students and others how well the student does at displaying their