Dublin Core
Title
"18229 - topic: grades
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I’ve had too much time the past few weeks to think about the UP debate. I decided I’d share my thoughts and try to get some input.....
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I’ve had too much time the past few weeks to think about the UP debate. I decided I’d share my thoughts and try to get some input.....
Publisher
Dear Blueno
Date
March 30, 2020
Text Item Type Metadata
Text
"18229 - topic: grades
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I’ve had too much time the past few weeks to think about the UP debate. I decided I’d share my thoughts and try to get some input.
To me, it seems like most of the dialogue boils down to that most people against UP admit that some students are suffering and at a disadvantage due to COVID-19, but they don’t want to have to sacrifice any of their happiness (i.e. having a higher gpa, feeling satisfaction from hard work) to help elevate that.
Some people are very uncomfortable hearing that, especially from potential doctors.
I personally would rather give up the GPA boost I am expecting in order to stop people from failing. I’ve been on serious academic warning before before due to familial issues and mental health. I don’t want anyone to deal with failing. I do want people to be able to focus on what is actually important if they’re facing issues.
But...I don’t see the other side of this being brought up. Would it be fair/right for Brown to say someone has earned a credit if they really haven’t?
Earning a credit is meant to have a certain value. Typically it means you have mastered a certain amount of a topic, in some classes it means that you were in a certain percentage of the class, etc. At brown when you have your 30 credits, you are given the stamp that says “this person knows stuff about this subject” (your diploma). If you didnt actually earn those credits, should you graduate? Is it right of brown to give you a diploma when you know a lesser % of things than someone who graduated in your concentration last year? Shouldn’t the diploma hold a certain meaning?
Is it right for someone in an intro class to be passed into the next class if they don’t have the required prerequisite knowledge? Students will have to struggle even more to pass the more difficult class if they don’t have all of the knowledge from the previous.
I know that UP will bring immediate relief to a lot of people but I’m caught thinking of these potential issues. I’d really appreciate if people shared their thoughts on this too. "
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I’ve had too much time the past few weeks to think about the UP debate. I decided I’d share my thoughts and try to get some input.
To me, it seems like most of the dialogue boils down to that most people against UP admit that some students are suffering and at a disadvantage due to COVID-19, but they don’t want to have to sacrifice any of their happiness (i.e. having a higher gpa, feeling satisfaction from hard work) to help elevate that.
Some people are very uncomfortable hearing that, especially from potential doctors.
I personally would rather give up the GPA boost I am expecting in order to stop people from failing. I’ve been on serious academic warning before before due to familial issues and mental health. I don’t want anyone to deal with failing. I do want people to be able to focus on what is actually important if they’re facing issues.
But...I don’t see the other side of this being brought up. Would it be fair/right for Brown to say someone has earned a credit if they really haven’t?
Earning a credit is meant to have a certain value. Typically it means you have mastered a certain amount of a topic, in some classes it means that you were in a certain percentage of the class, etc. At brown when you have your 30 credits, you are given the stamp that says “this person knows stuff about this subject” (your diploma). If you didnt actually earn those credits, should you graduate? Is it right of brown to give you a diploma when you know a lesser % of things than someone who graduated in your concentration last year? Shouldn’t the diploma hold a certain meaning?
Is it right for someone in an intro class to be passed into the next class if they don’t have the required prerequisite knowledge? Students will have to struggle even more to pass the more difficult class if they don’t have all of the knowledge from the previous.
I know that UP will bring immediate relief to a lot of people but I’m caught thinking of these potential issues. I’d really appreciate if people shared their thoughts on this too. "
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