“Everyone is way too concerned about grades and this concern is depriving young people of the freedom they need for true education.
There is good reason to believe that much of the increased suffering of young people comes from the increased weight and senselessness of schooling. Young people are spending more time than ever in school, going through ever more meaningless hoops. The concern for high test scores and grades is enormous; the concern for real, authentic learning is almost absent. Students are so busy preparing for tests and pursuing grades that they have little time to delve into anything that truly interests them, and little time for real learning. When one is constantly pursuing extrinsic ends and has little time to find and pursue intrinsic interests, life feels empty.
The school establishment, and the politicians behind it, act as if all young people must be on a college track for success in today’s economy, when, truth be told, young people actually learn little in college that helps them prepare for jobs or for adult life. There are, in fact, many ways to make a good living today without college, and many college graduates end up taking jobs that they could have gone into without college. Students increasingly view their whole educational career as a long, almost endless, series of hoops to jump through.
Students and parents learn from the constant propaganda that college—and maybe even graduate school—is essential for a satisfying adult life, and that these will be shut off for them if they don’t achieve high grades all along the way. Our increasingly absurd educational system is driving many students crazy.” – Peter Gray
Excerpted from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/freedom-learn/201511/causes-students-emotional-fragility-five-perspectives
