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WhyICareAboutGrades 8 - 09 Feb 2010 - Main.KrishnaSutaria
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| | After our discussion on Thursday I thought it would be helpful to explain why I care so much about my grades. Grades have caused me a tremendous amount of “fear and anxiety” over the past 14 weeks and I would love to stop caring. I’m hoping that Eben and the rest of the class can lift this mighty weight from my shoulders, but I’m not optimistic that it can be done.
I care about grades because other people care about grades. | | | I care about grades to the extent that I need them to get what I want. The example above of getting into graduate school fits how I saw grades in college, too. I don't think my law school grades are important, and I sincerely hope the rest of you have the wherewithal to think about how much you care (in a value hierarchy) whether the guy next to you got A's vs. whether he's a jerk, and how that thought process (or at least unconscious judgement) is repeated by fellow humans millions of times every day. That judgement matters in real life, too...not just now.
-- DRussellKraft - 08 Feb 2010 | |
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> | I see grades as "access to choices", similar to Derek's "I need them to get what I want." And yes, likability is crucial to life and at the end of the day grades don't matter.
But Josh is right on one very basic point - people do judge you based on your law school grades. These people might not be your children or the person sitting next to you, but those who have the power to let you get where you need to be going. So if getting into Columbia was the goal, then you're lucky. You can relax now. If a prestigious clerkship or big law job are the goals, then you are still stuck in this grades mess. One of the things, I think, this class helps us with is figuring out why we want that big law job or that clerkship or whatever. And once we are aware of what those goals entail, we can make a real choice.
When you're thinking about a career choice, that kind of clear-headed, open-eyed analysis is really helpful. But I'm not sure awareness of the uselessness of grades, or their inability to reflect our human side serves a larger purpose than making me feel ok about my mediocre first semester performance. If I still want the kind of access to choices I came here to get, I still feel, like Josh, the pressure to perform. Any takers?
Speaking of access to choices, Ron, I think the options are a little limited on the Girls' Survey! Eyes and a pleasant smile are nice to begin with, but intelligence may be important too. Also, the quality that gets noticed first may be different from the quality that infatuates. Or maybe I really need to get some sleep!
-- KrishnaSutaria - 09 Feb 2010 |
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