▶ Your Answer :
I
sometimes heard news that some students committed suicide because they did not
get a good score in university entrance exam or just school exams. What are the
fundamental problems hiding behind the suicide? It might be a pressure under
which students are and the tension between students. In this sense, grades have
a possibility of stimulating this negative side of problem. Also it can
encourage not to study some subjects but to memorize whole textbooks.
First
of all, grading students according to their scores make them to mechanically
memorize their text materials. Fully understanding the subjects that is covered
in class is crucial. However, presence of grades makes students to be anxious
that they won’t be able to win scholarship. In my case, since I had to win a
scholarship and I took a lot of lectures, I had no choice but to cram for a few
days. It helped me to win the scholarship but does not help me understand that
subjects deeply. I barely discussed some concepts, which were introduced in
class, so I had no chance to confirm my understanding. Consequently, grades
have few influence on motivating students.
Moreover,
grades can depress students. Students who have low grades compared to others
may blame themselves and they loose their interest in studying. In the case of
university entrance exam, even if one studied really hard, one can fail to be
admitted to university. This can discourage students. To illustrate this point,
one of my friends studied everyday in university library to get good grades. He,
however, got grades that were far under his expectation. It continued for two
semesters and he got tired about a series of exams. Consequently, he applied
for a leave of absence from school. Likewise, students might get tired with
receiving good grades.
To
summarize, though grading students has some positive effect on forcing them to
study, its negative effects go beyond positive ones. It can discourage students
and make them to be tired about studying. Therefore I strongly argue that
alternative method is needed for encouraging students to learn other than
grades.
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