We all have what brought us to university. The main goal is to attain a degree. Not just any degree but with a better class that can get us jobs. But there is a system now that doesn’t look at what you have to offer as in what your degree says about you. But what is used to classify and give us jobs nowadays is about whom you know and who knows you. Well, we can’t stop studying. We will always do. Aside from these issues too, we have one that we will see when we get into the lecture rooms.
So, we were in class one day. The lecturer was teaching what we were following. We took notes of everything and we did our best to involve so much in the class. We had written some quizzes in the semester. Some of them didn’t go well and he expected us to do more. That was when he paused and made a statement. “It’s not about the grades. It’s about what you understand and what you can give back to anyone who doesn’t understand the course.” That was true but they don’t make it so. I had to question him while everyone was quiet.
I told him, “Sir, here is where the first criteria the department looks at to choose their best-performing students is the grades. Even when we want to get Teaching Assistance for the department, the students with the best GPAs are considered. This tells us we should be focused on it rather than understanding it. We will have TAs who are our mates but we understand the courses more than them. We assisted them but the system didn’t favor us in grades. So for the understanding, I would have it to the max and my grades don’t get me into the spotlight. That makes it useless because I will never even be given a chance. So, if the system favors good grades rather than understanding, that’s what we will choose. “After this, he had nothing to say. The class nodded in agreement and supported my argument.
Our system doesn’t favor us. Exams sometimes come to favor those who by chance saw the topic that will come before the paper. Some students go to class from the start of the semester till the end. They sit in the exam hall and they write their best. They have the concept, but the part they didn’t get most comes in the exams and doesn’t favor him. There will be another who will come bit by bit but end up with a better grade than the person who has much knowledge. It’s about time we did something about this system. There should be a way to give opportunities to deserving students rather than just looking at grades. Let’s look beyond the grades. When we do, we will realize great talents.
This is a lesson I share today. You might have experienced it one way or the other. Give yourself the chance to live and do your best to develop yourself. Maybe the degree is a way out but does well to get employed by your own company. Give yourself the chance to see beyond grades. It’s only in our talents we become unique.