[Kims Robot]

I have to agree that being a good learner and a self-starter are definitely very important in the long run of life. And I also have to say that I cant entirely agree with the grading system schools use. I want to think that teachers are "getting it" more and more, by giving students credit for effort, partial credit on incorrect answers, and relying more and more on project work for grades. I had a class at RIT where there were NO exams. It was all on small projects and the final project. So I feel in that case grading is fair... but yes, the fill in the bubble exams really just tell you how good the student is at finding the answer. And dont even get me started on the NY Regents... lol.

But as exampled by many of us here, it is possible to learn to be a good learner, a self starter, a leader AND get decent grades. I dont think the students need to choose. I think they can do it all in this case. All are important, and its definitely NOT necessary to have a 4.0. In fact, my boss told me last year NOT to hire students with a 4.0 (obviously cavioted with the fact that there are exceptions). In general they are too work focused and too book smart to have the common sense that my department needs (we travel a lot to strange places, have to think fast and out of the box often).

So I want to propose that most of us are on the same side of the coin. We dont need to choose which is more important (learning or grades). When done correctly and in the right proportion, students can choose both.