Reply to Magnet application result High School

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I teach at the college level, and I hate students' obsession with grades. The focus on all As is producing a culture where kids are afraid to think for themselves, to take risks, think outside the box. It is ok to get Bs and even Cs. In fact at the college level students will find their tools and strategies for pursuing all As will actually be a detriment to them. There is also the issue that their worth and identity is so wrapped up in being a straight A student that when they get their first B or (horrors) C they completely fall apart.
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You need the grades to get into magnet and decent colleges now.  [/quote]

It's not all about grades.[/quote]

Right so then why did some of our well rounded all a kids not get selected?[/quote]

The PP you’re quoting literally said “It’s not all about grades.”  If it was all about grades, maybe your all A kid would have been selected over my (and other PP’s) mostly A kids. [/quote]

It's not all about grades, it's about grades plus a little extra. But, contrary to what the college-level teacher might think, if a student does get a C on their transcript, their chances of getting in a good college are practically annihilated. Unless said student is an Olympic champion or some kind of a refugee. So it's not that the kids are so shallow and vain, it's the game they are forced to play.[/quote]

I understand you think that's how it works, but I promise you it's not how it works. Not unless your kid is trying to get into Harvard or Stanford, and guess what, students with Bs and Cs on their high school transcript get into those schools too. Colleges was interesting students with a love of learning. You can't teach a love of learning into a kid, it has to come intrinsically, but you sure as heck can get a kid to fall out of love for learning by making it all about grades and ivies.[/quote]

B/C students often cannot get into UMD let alone other good schools.[/quote]

Good grief, there's a difference between having a few Bs and Cs on your transcript and having a B or C average. College admissions is like roulette. There are more qualified applicants than spots (and qualified is defined broadly, not on grades alone) and so colleges are looking to build a class based on what will round out a thriving campus community. Maybe they need more violists in their orchestra, or kids passionate about organizing campus service projects, or so on. There's a whole literature on this if you go out and look for it.[/quote]

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