Quote:
Originally Posted by CommanderRachek
This brings up a sentiment I myself have at times attempted to impart upon several of my teammates (including the illustrious Phrontist): sometimes (not always) it's easier to just jump through the dang hoop. This is something which I believe, though I believe it less now than I did two or three years ago.
That notwithstanding, I do not believe that any student anywhere should be put in a position where they feel obligated to jump through an irrelevant hoop (e.g. math class) in order to get something that is actually important (e.g. FIRST). The choice to do the math (or history, or physics, or English) work should be just that: a choice; specifically it is a choice to use time now in order to possibly (not definitely) broaden one's future options.
In my experience, meaningless assignments are what contribute to the bulk of most classes' grades, and true intellectualism (by which I mean learning for learning's sake) is either ignored or actively discouraged, except by an enlightened few. FIRST is one of the few venues that are available to high school students for true intellectual growth. By introducing a mandatory minimum GPA, a FIRST team is almost invariably going to exclude the students that would benefit most from it: the kids who are sick and tired of playing this ridiculous, pseudo-academic game and want to actually learn something. I happen to be one of these kids, along with (if I may be so bold as to do some conjecturing) every single other member of team 1418, past and present. This is not to say that we are the only students who feel this way: to the contrary, I believe such students are all over the place, and that nearly all of them feel much of the same frustration that I do.
A good GPA will almost always open a few doors for you in the future, but it will very often lead to closed doors in the present: time lost to busywork cannot be devoted to something valuable and interesting. On top of that, the doors that good grades do open can usually be opened some other way. If they can't, they are worthless.
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I have to disagree. I agree most classes do promote meaningless work... but I do not believe they actively squash intellectualism.
If kids REALLY want to learn they will... It often takes more than a teacher to learn something... you need to have interest in it as well.
// This stuff isn't in response to your post but just the thread in general
Secondly, I think people are over-emphasizing "learning" ... Learning can get you far in life but not as far as possible. Ultimately you need to be focused on goals and how to achieve them -- and this often involves doing things that aren't ideal or fun or intellectual. You need to know what you want and how to get it.
I'll admit I was a slacker but I never slacked enough to get lower than a B+
I knew I could get into pretty much any college if I got a 3.9 or above and just took every hard class possible.
Lastly ... GPA is not necessarily a measure of pure intelligence... and it isn't meant to be. Basically your GPA is a reflection of several things:
-How goal oriented/motivated you are
- How smart you are
- How organized you are.
I had a lot of the first, a little of the second, and none of the last...!
Having a low GPA does hurt you in life... and my ideology is this:
I am not someone extraordinarily special, I am not a genius and I probably am not going to achieve anything so <amazingly> special that I can get where I want to get...(this same fact probably applies to most people too). So I will just suck it up and jump through the hoop and get a good GPA.
Most people aren't amazing, they aren't going to be successful in a vaccum
those people need to suck it up and just try to get a good GPA and use the standard venues towards success.