Grades vs Education

[Clueless Morgan]

PT PhDs take a long time. No reputable University would let a FT student languish for more than maybe 5 years on getting one before cutting them loose. I mean, their funding would only be up to 4 years max anyway.

I read this sentence, stopped at FT and thought: "What does that stand for? Fucktard? Hmm, I don't think that's it." Am I curious to know what it means, though.

As for grades, I think there's a lot of emphasis put on getting grades to the point where it seems that students aim for the grade, not comprehension of the material, because, as said multiple times in this thread already, the grades determine where you can advance to in the next level of your education. If you don't have the grades than you won't get into university, or into a masters program so you have to work for the grade - whether the material is learned or not ends up taking a back seat.

I think it also depends on the student and their desire to learn. I feel like when I was in school and in a class that applied to my degree field, I both wanted to comprehend the material and get a good grade - the comprehension part because I was learning something that I would probably have to put into practice in my career so I'd better learn it, if only so I don't look like a complete moron when I get a job, and the grade part I saw as a reflection of my comprehension of the material. When it came to the pre-req classes, though, like Writing 101 and Geography and the other humanities classes you have to take that have nothing to do with your degree, I found them interesting and I tended to enjoy the classes, but I had no desire to retain the material I was learning any longer than I needed it to get a grade I thought was acceptable. And I wanted the grade simply to have a good GPA. I understood the material in the pre-reqs, even comprehended it pretty well, but I didn't retain any of it (or most of it, I should say) or feel like there was a pressing need to retain it in light of the fact that I was having to jamb my brain full of information that actually applied to my future career.

And, sadly, while I think there's a bit of merit to going to a pass-fail system in school (I basically did my last year opting for pass-fail grading options but still did A/B worthy work), you will end up with the students who don't care enough about the class or subject (even if they're getting a degree in it) to put in quality work and they'll do the absolute minimum amount of work needed to get a passing grade and I don't want a lawyer or a doctor or an engineer who did the absolute minimum to get through school. Granted, I will concede the point that I don't know whether the lawyers or doctors or engineers I see or work with right now got straight As, and there is an element on learning on the job so it's a hard question to answer.