Homework

1.  Is Professor Grossman off the mark when he says “I tell my classes that if they just do what they are supposed to do and meet the standard requirements, that they will earn a C,” he said. “That is the default grade. They see the default grade as an A.” why?
  
I believe Professor Grossman is right about C being the default grade.  An A is not a default grade.  It is a grade you earn through hard work and studying.  People should not expect to receive an A just because they read the book or did all their homework.  Everybody should do that.  And everybody should not receive an A because that makes all of the people who actually go over and above no different than the people who just show up at class.  If A was the default grade, high GPA's would be almost obsolete.  I am an A student and I work hard to get that A.  If everybody got A's, what would differentiate a D student from an actual A student?  What would create the standard for Scholarships or Honors?  An A grade comes from doing over and above what you are expected to do.



2.  What do you think is causing students to feel entitled to receive a good grade? Is it because a grade of A is now the expected default for "average" work where in reality a grade of A denotes "above average"?  Are the students prior experiences in high school or earlier the cause?  Are parents to cause "my child is perfect so it must be the instructors fault"?  

 I believe that human pride is at the center of this problem.  Many people don't want to learn.  They want other people to give them the key to life.  When you look at the people who are the A students or are honor students, most of them are highly motivated and willing to learn and willing to receive constructive criticism.  



3.  Give your honest opinion of the article.  Do you feel you deserve grades based on your effort or is it that you earned the grade you receive because of your effort?  Anything else you would like to add?


I believe I earn A grades by doing my best.  I do not expect the instructor to give me an A, but I expect by trying my hardest and studying and doing everything in my power that I will earn my A.  
 
When people do something wrong or don't get the result they wanted, they automatically turn and try to find someone else to blame.  Whether that is their parents or their instructor or whoever they choose to pin the blame on.  If we took a good look at ourselves before we blame, we would save ourselves a lot.  If we know inside without a doubt that we did our hardest and tried our best and did everything in our power in hopes of receiving an A, then and only then, we can look to other circumstances to blame.

There are times when the instructor is incompatible with the student and so the student is unable to learn to his or her full capacity and then the fault lies with the instructor.   Or the subject is hard and the student has difficulty with it.  But even then, all you can do is try the very best you can to receive the A.  An A should not be a default or expected grade.