The inevitable question of “How will I get an A on this course?” starts popping up before the semester starts.
Due to the fully equipped student community websites, like "Ewhaian.com" for the Ewha community, it is easy to catch the gossip that’s going around. Students scan which professor gives As by just showing up on time or looks for those who set the same exam questions with last year so they can easily get a good grade. Students need to fulfill college credit requirements, and on top of that, the job market's competition is growing even tighter every year; it's not surprising to know that these factors affect class registration. My question here is, so what is left from taking those classes? If students are motivated to take the class just because they think they can easily get grades, it will become the very factor that will ruin their academic careers. It’s obvious that you'll get out nothing from these classes because already from the fact that you can get a good score has marred your basic attitude as a student to be eager to learn.
Some of the students who have graduated from Ewha this spring say they spent unforgettable years here satisfying the desire to learn what they want. It isn’t just about taking courses from renowned professors and strolling the beautiful campus. The most vivid memories and lessons they rememebered were the times when they finished the assignments or team projects that they really worked with passion.
The purpose of assigning grades would probably be about recording a student's diligence in class. What should really be going on inside our classrooms is students wanting to share knowledge and enthusiasm, stimulate ideas and prepare the uncertain future by specifying their dreams and careers.
It’s not that trying to get a good grade is a bad thing; it just wrong that it's becoming the dominant goal on campus.
Students should be motivated entirely by the pursuit of opportunities for learning, and the pursuit of passion and pleasure than comes from it, rather than finding courses they can take absentmindedly. Find what sparks your passion.
Ewha Voice
evoice@ewha.ac.kr