Learning Differently

Students enrolled in college classes are over concentrated on good grades instead of becoming ‘well-rounded.’ More and more professionals are looking to hire employees with a more liberal education. A-F grading system encourages students to achieve higher grades and learn to deal with stress. Therefore, attending a school with a liberal arts education on an A-F grading system is the most beneficial way to learn in the long run.
With a liberal education someone can better develop himself or herself to stand out. Specialized education and liberal arts education both have the same end result but have an entirely different path of achieving a diploma. Liberal education is a well-rounded education plan the sends a student on a journey of self-discovery and exploration while achieving an ultimate education goal. (Conan). Students become positively recognized in a crowd of others with basic knowledge of many topics verses someone with a lot of knowledge about one particular subject. Students discover interests by taking courses they normally wouldn’t such a music, dance, literature, or science. Taking required classes that don’t necessarily pertain to a particular major shouldn’t be looked at as a waste of time. These classes should be looked at as a tool for growth. It sets students up for a broader social life with keeping conversation. It goes aligns with Cronan’s third quality of liberally educated people that “They can hold a conversation with a high school dropout or a Nobel laureate, a child or a nursing-home resident, a factory worker, or a corporate president (Cronan 4.)” More often than not employers are looking at hiring prospective employees with a liberal studies background instead of a specialized background. They are able to communicate and interact with many different people “An educated person is literate a wide range of genres and media (Cronan 3.)” When someone has knowledge in many subjects and can hold intellectual conversations they can better stand out from others to achieve their higher goals in the work place.
Just like the UW-Green Bay Education view ‘360 of Learning’ this learning system “describes a comprehensive educational experience that offers students multiple perspectives and viewpoints, through a purposeful, interdisciplinary curriculum, and connects students to exceptional faculty and internationally recognized scholars.’ (UW-Green Bay Education 1.) The liberal Arts education is similar and the stronger education choice.
An ‘A-F grading system better motivates students to do better on assignments, tests, and in classes. Having a traditional ‘A-F grading system’ is what most students recognize and are used to seeing. Some say with this system students are actually learning and retaining information while others are saying they are simply looking at the grade on a piece of paper. Mandrell puts it simple “The bottom line is that grades, by any other name, have and always will play a major role in education and in life.” The A-F grading system is basic and can show areas of praise and areas where improvement is needed. It also sets students apart from other students with GPA’s and class rankings. We have become accustomed to being ‘awarded’ for things we do for example“… a product of a carrot-at-the-end-of-the-stick world and can only be motivated my a grade, a paycheck, a bonus, a public pat on the back instead of knowing, quietly and contentedly, that what I do is fulfilling, distinctive, and important” This is exactly human nature though. We need to know there is something waiting at the end of a hard days work (Mandell 382) “Self-discipline is nothing more than a certain way of pleasing yourself, and it is the last thing anyone is likely to learn for a grade.” (Farber 6) These words remind us that we are selfish and want to be recognized for everything we do and accomplish and don’t accomplish. That is exactly what grades do they give us motivation to accomplish