Bell Curve Persuasive Essay

Today, results in higher education is based on the bell curve, where students compete against each another in a rat race to get to the top of the bell curve in order to score good results. The existence of the bell curve means that students can work very hard and still lose to their peers. This competitive education system is detrimental as it discourages students who does worse than their peers. This causes some to turn into unethical ways to achieve good results and also become more selfish towards peers taking the same examination. A less competitive education environment was exemplified in the Finnish education system; new school streaming was abolished in the 1980s yet Finnish students’ performance has been among the best in all the domains in each …show more content…
It is inevitable that there will be people doing badly in the race for grades. Indeed, competition can boost one’s ego and spur the elites to do better but the effect on the rest will not be as desirable. It is not encouraging to those at the bottom of the bell curve. Some despite having worked hard, might not do well in comparison to others. Thus they would be disheartened, diminishing their interest in the subject. Moreover, fresh graduates need confidence when entering the workforce, instead of feeling bashed in their field of interest. Moving on to an unfamiliar phase in life is already daunting enough thus they may need the boost of confidence to perform better in their workplace. Confidence is one of the top three traits that employers looked for in new hires (Casserly, 2012). Since higher education is supposed to prepare one for entry into the workforce, it is important not to severely dishearten students with excessive competition amongst themselves. Hence, the Singapore education system should shift their focus on grades and competition amongst peers to the preparation that is needed for one to enter the workforce, such as teamwork and confidence in one’s