Imagine a world where students do their work to the best of their ability, try their best, and don’t ask teachers for a better grade if they don’t get the grade they wanted. Every teacher roots for their students to succeed and argues that students’ effort should be based on their grade no matter how much they struggle with the material. But it seems that many students today feel their grades should be based on the effort they put in, rather than the quality of the work.
I believe that students should just do their work and accept the grade they get. If they did a good job then they shouldn’t be worried about the grade they received. If you think the teacher made a mistake you can ask them, but not be mad at the grade. If we are not happy with our grade we can ask teachers for help.
Personally, if I get a bad grade on an assignment, I would ask the teacher if I can redo it or ask for an extra credit assignment and it’s up to the teacher if they let me. If they don’t, I would just make sure to turn in every assignment on time so my grade goes up. I would not go up to the teacher asking for a better grade.
However, according to the article “No, You Don’t Get an A for Effort,” by Adam Grant, many students feel they should be rewarded for trying or simply just showing up. “High marks are for excellence, not grit,” Grant says. “In the past, students understood that hard work was not sufficient; an A required great work. Yet today, many students expect to be rewarded for the quantity of their effort rather than the quality of their knowledge.” Some people study for 2 hours and others for 30 minutes. So it doesn’t really matter how much time they study or work on the assignment as long as they do it right. How does someone who turns in material that contains serious errors or omissions get the same grade as someone who did a good job on their assignment?
In the article, some students felt they should receive a B just for showing up. I can’t speak to that because I don’t relate to it. But a personal experience was my junior year. I had seen several students show up to class everyday and not do anything, but they still expected to receive a good grade and would get mad when they didn’t. They would rarely do the assignments and when they did, they would ask classmates or use a website to complete it.
I believe that grades are really important, but at the same time grades don’t define you. Having good grades motivates you to try harder and do better and it’s exciting when you see straight A’s. For most students school is our only work, which means we need to get good grades. Even though sometimes we don’t understand the material, it is possible to maintain a good grade.
There are so many opportunities teachers offer you to be on top of your work. Such as tutorials afterschool and some even offer it in the morning. So if you have a bad grade, it’s your choice since there are many opportunities. You can even ask classmates who have an A to help you out and explain to you the material.
A lot of students are basically demanding that they should get a better grade for the amount of time they work on their assignment or just the fact that they completed it, regardless of the quality.
Some students might argue this, which is not right. I believe that students should get a grade based on the quality of their work, rather than the time or effort they put in. If teachers start grading based on effort some students might not even try and are just going to say they spent a lot of time doing the assignment for a better grade. But where is the proof? Many students use Chatgpt, and their Snapchat AI to do their assignments. Once they get caught they get upset, when they shouldn’t because they are plagiarizing.
Spending a lot of time on something doesn’t always mean it’s good, but it’s mostly focusing on how well you understand the material. That’s what really matters. Doing your assignments is mostly for growth and improvement on the material you are getting taught in class.
Students need to learn that not everything is going to go their way in life. They need to understand the value of doing their assignment and seeking help if they need it. Not demanding a good grade for just showing up and/or putting some “effort” in.
