• Home
  • Staff
  • Privacy Policy
  • News Tips/Press Releases
  • Advertising
Friday, May 27, 2022
No Result
View All Result
The Times-Delphic
  • News
    • All
    • Administrative News
    • Campus Events
    • Campus Health
    • Caucus Roundup
    • In Des Moines
    • Politics
    • Student Politics
    • Student Senate
    • The Ones

    Drake University Adds Five New Electric Vans

    Indira Sheumaker, city councilmembers find common ground among conflicts

    Drake urges community to remain cautious as reporting of new COVID-19 cases slows

    Drake urges community to remain cautious as reporting of new COVID-19 cases slows

    Drake to build University Center

    Student Senate passes resolution in support of the transgender community

    • Administrative News
    • The Ones
    • Campus Events
    • Campus Health
    • Caucus Roundup
    • In Des Moines
    • Politics
    • Student Politics
    • Student Senate
    • Senate Elections
  • Sports
    • All
    • Baseball
    • Basketball
    • Column
    • Cross-Country
    • E-Sports
    • Football
    • Golf
    • Rowing
    • Soccer
    • Softball
    • Tennis
    • Track and Field
    • Volleyball

    Promising 2022 NFL Draft for Packers fans

    The two national parks you should visit this summer

    Des Moines lands news USL team and stadium district

    Former Drake Basketball Player Wins National Championship

    The Top Moves of NFL Free Agency

    • Basketball
    • Column
    • Cross-Country
    • E-Sports
    • Football
    • Golf
    • Rowing
    • Soccer
    • Softball
  • Commentary
    • All
    • Horoscope
    • Letter from the Editor
    • Letter to the Editor

    Hip astrology: Relays horoscope

    Painted Street ain’t so sweet when costs are heaped

    Commentary: Top 5 Self Care Tips

    Commentary: Top 5 Self Care Tips

    Commentary: How to meet your next partner in 2022

    Commentary: “Oh… We’re Not Dating…”

    • Horoscope
    • Letter from the Editor
  • Features
    • All
    • Greek Life
    Drake welcomes first Black woman Student Body President

    Student Body President Morgan Coleman shares experiences as a leader

    Painted Street recap

    Bam Bam wins Drake University’s 43rd annual Beautiful Bulldog Contest

    New Casey’s Location on Forest Avenue

    ADA student task force advocates for disability inclusion

    • Greek Life
  • Podcasts
    Drake Weekly Sports Podcast | December 3

    Drake Weekly Sports Podcast | December 3

    Drake Public Safety and the student body

    Drake Public Safety and the student body

    Humans of Drake Podcast

    Bulldog Blitz 1: December 7, 2010

    The Sports Report 2010 7: 11/09/2010

  • Relays Edition

    Bill that would make Iowa a hands-free driving state stalls in the legislature

    New Casey’s Location on Forest Avenue

    ADA student task force advocates for disability inclusion

    Des Moines lands news USL team and stadium district

    The Great Resignation: What Is It? And Why Is It Happening?

    The Great Resignation: What Is It? And Why Is It Happening?

    Hip astrology: Relays horoscope

    State of Sustainability at Drake

    Dean Kathleen Richardson: Leaving a Legacy for the Drake SJMC

    Painted Street ain’t so sweet when costs are heaped

    • Commentary
    • Coronavirus
    • Elections
    • Features
    • In Des Moines
    • News
    • This week in photos
    • Top News
    • Top Stories
    • Uncategorized
    • Video
    • Sports
    • Security Reports
    • Relays Edition
    • Poll
    • Podcasts
    • Online Exclusives
    • Opinion
  • News
    • All
    • Administrative News
    • Campus Events
    • Campus Health
    • Caucus Roundup
    • In Des Moines
    • Politics
    • Student Politics
    • Student Senate
    • The Ones

    Drake University Adds Five New Electric Vans

    Indira Sheumaker, city councilmembers find common ground among conflicts

    Drake urges community to remain cautious as reporting of new COVID-19 cases slows

    Drake urges community to remain cautious as reporting of new COVID-19 cases slows

    Drake to build University Center

    Student Senate passes resolution in support of the transgender community

    • Administrative News
    • The Ones
    • Campus Events
    • Campus Health
    • Caucus Roundup
    • In Des Moines
    • Politics
    • Student Politics
    • Student Senate
    • Senate Elections
  • Sports
    • All
    • Baseball
    • Basketball
    • Column
    • Cross-Country
    • E-Sports
    • Football
    • Golf
    • Rowing
    • Soccer
    • Softball
    • Tennis
    • Track and Field
    • Volleyball

    Promising 2022 NFL Draft for Packers fans

    The two national parks you should visit this summer

    Des Moines lands news USL team and stadium district

    Former Drake Basketball Player Wins National Championship

    The Top Moves of NFL Free Agency

    • Basketball
    • Column
    • Cross-Country
    • E-Sports
    • Football
    • Golf
    • Rowing
    • Soccer
    • Softball
  • Commentary
    • All
    • Horoscope
    • Letter from the Editor
    • Letter to the Editor

    Hip astrology: Relays horoscope

    Painted Street ain’t so sweet when costs are heaped

    Commentary: Top 5 Self Care Tips

    Commentary: Top 5 Self Care Tips

    Commentary: How to meet your next partner in 2022

    Commentary: “Oh… We’re Not Dating…”

    • Horoscope
    • Letter from the Editor
  • Features
    • All
    • Greek Life
    Drake welcomes first Black woman Student Body President

    Student Body President Morgan Coleman shares experiences as a leader

    Painted Street recap

    Bam Bam wins Drake University’s 43rd annual Beautiful Bulldog Contest

    New Casey’s Location on Forest Avenue

    ADA student task force advocates for disability inclusion

    • Greek Life
  • Podcasts
    Drake Weekly Sports Podcast | December 3

    Drake Weekly Sports Podcast | December 3

    Drake Public Safety and the student body

    Drake Public Safety and the student body

    Humans of Drake Podcast

    Bulldog Blitz 1: December 7, 2010

    The Sports Report 2010 7: 11/09/2010

  • Relays Edition

    Bill that would make Iowa a hands-free driving state stalls in the legislature

    New Casey’s Location on Forest Avenue

    ADA student task force advocates for disability inclusion

    Des Moines lands news USL team and stadium district

    The Great Resignation: What Is It? And Why Is It Happening?

    The Great Resignation: What Is It? And Why Is It Happening?

    Hip astrology: Relays horoscope

    State of Sustainability at Drake

    Dean Kathleen Richardson: Leaving a Legacy for the Drake SJMC

    Painted Street ain’t so sweet when costs are heaped

    • Commentary
    • Coronavirus
    • Elections
    • Features
    • In Des Moines
    • News
    • This week in photos
    • Top News
    • Top Stories
    • Uncategorized
    • Video
    • Sports
    • Security Reports
    • Relays Edition
    • Poll
    • Podcasts
    • Online Exclusives
    • Opinion
No Result
View All Result
The Times-Delphic
No Result
View All Result
Home Opinion

Professors abandon students by not awarding ‘A’s

byKATHERINE HUNT
March 7, 2013
in Opinion
0 0
1

Column by Katherine Hunt

Hunt is a senior marketing and management double major and can be reached at katherine.hunt@drake.edu

Walking into a brand new class on the first sunshiny day of the new semester, you look around. It’s a nice change from a big lecture hall or that forced AOI class. There are people in this class you’re friends with, and everyone seems friendly enough. Then, a general silence falls upon the room as the clock strikes 2 o’clock. With a flourish, the professor starts directly on time, not wanting to waste precious moments on breathing. The syllabus looks tough, but that’s college life anyways.

The real problem comes when the professor bluntly states about five minutes into class, “I don’t give out As. If you want an A, good luck, because you will then be one of three people who might get one.” Does this statement sound familiar? To me, I’ve heard this all too many times throughout my academic career, even in high school.

Why some professors say this on the first day, I really don’t know. I mean, it’s hard enough to motivate students to go to class, much less devote their evenings to a course when they can be hanging out with friends or shopping at the mall. But to go and bluntly state that As won’t be handed out? That’s just wrong. Maybe the people who use this principle believe that this will drive each and every student to excel, but this obviously backfires. Sure, there will be a couple of students who will pull an all-nighter every night just to maintain a 4.0 GPA, but that’s not the consensus of the student population. Yes, we as students want good grades, but we don’t want to sacrifice everything else in our lives, including other classes and their homework.

In the broad spectrum of things, getting a B, C or even a D once in a while will not destroy a student’s career. After all, I have been told by more than one person in my life, “Ds get degrees.” (That must have been part of the whole ‘D+’ campaign, but I digress.) In all seriousness though, not being on the President’s List one semester will not hurt anyone. Sure, your GPA may be a 3.9 instead of a 4.0 when you graduate, but the longer a person is out of college, the less the coursework matters. Employers want real world experience more than anything and only take college coursework as a substitute since students are so new to the “real world.”

For me personally, being told on the first day of a brand new class that I probably won’t get an A unless I give up my social life, career and my hand to carpal tunnel, my mind immediately checks out of the class. I give an average effort to the class and Facebook on while the professor talks. If the professor doesn’t want to even give his or her students the chance to excel, then fine. We won’t excel, and we will become your desired class of only a few high achievers scattered amongst the average students that apparently the rest of us are.

If professors really want to get students motivated, get students involved. Share the love of a course or the material behind it. Be unique. Be different, but don’t be cruel.  Use memorable in-class examples like Professor Lou Ann Simpson’s BUSL 060 course, or better yet, talk to the students on an equal level like Dean Randall Blum in BUS 001 to 004. Yes, we students may not have a degree yet, but that’s why we’re here. Professors can’t truly expect us to become young, successful professionals unless we’re seen and treated as such.

So, until those professors who don’t give As understand that students just want to be respected and given a chance, I will be on Facebook and Twitter with the same lack of respect and demotivation that was just shown towards me by the lecturer in front of the white board.

Tags: AcademicsGrading

KATHERINE HUNT

Next Post

Mice take over residences

Comments 1

  1. student says:
    9 years ago

    I think the root of the problem in our educational culture is that people aim for grades instead of learning. A lot of people cram and do well on exams and in classes, only to forget half of the material the next year. I have been guilty of this in the past with classes. Over time, I’ve learned that it is much more satisfying to be interested and respect what I learn, instead of dreading the AOIs and worrying about my grades. Intrinsic motivation will go a lot further than being extrinsically motivated by a grade and GPA

Twitter Feeds

The Times-Delphic
The Times-Delphic @timesdelphic

The Times-Delphic is still hiring for the positions of Student Senate Beat Writer, Business and Finance Manager and Distributor for the 2022-23 school year! Apply online or reach out to grace.altenhofen @drake.edu for more information. https://t.co/U9VY5TtOZt
View on Twitter
timesdelphic photo
0
1
The Times-Delphic
The Times-Delphic @timesdelphic

BREAKING: Drake President Marty Martin announced in a campuswide email that Drake's number of active cases is projected to decline to 80 by the end of the day, down 241 since early Friday afternoon.
View on Twitter
2
10

Recommended

Student’s major helped her find a strong voice within religious communities in Des Moines

Student’s major helped her find a strong voice within religious communities in Des Moines

5 years ago

Mr. Wonderboy combines comedy and authenticity

11 years ago

Popular News

  • Twitch Streamer Raises Money for LGBT Community

    Twitch Streamer Raises Money for LGBT Community

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Gladwell’s “Outliers” reveals the many factors of success

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Drake ranks among Ivy Leagues on Economist list

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • The history of Indian boarding schools in Iowa

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Music as a political platform

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Drake Weekly Sports Podcast | December 3

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Humans of Drake Podcast

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • The Sports Report 2010 7: 11/09/2010

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Familiar face helps bring massive skatepark to Des Moines

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • The rise and fall of Motown Records

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Connect with us

  • About
  • Home
  • Podcasts
  • Privacy Policy
  • Virtual Edition
  • Advertising

Copyright 2015 Fuel Themes. All RIGHTS RESERVED.

No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Administrative News
    • The Ones
    • Campus Events
    • Campus Health
    • Caucus Roundup
    • In Des Moines
    • Politics
    • Student Politics
    • Student Senate
    • Senate Elections
  • Sports
    • Basketball
    • Column
    • Cross-Country
    • E-Sports
    • Football
    • Golf
    • Rowing
    • Soccer
    • Softball
  • Commentary
    • Horoscope
    • Letter from the Editor
  • Features
    • Greek Life
  • Podcasts
  • Relays Edition
    • Commentary
    • Coronavirus
    • Elections
    • Features
    • In Des Moines
    • News
    • This week in photos
    • Top News
    • Top Stories
    • Uncategorized
    • Video
    • Sports
    • Security Reports
    • Relays Edition
    • Poll
    • Podcasts
    • Online Exclusives
    • Opinion

Copyright 2015 Fuel Themes. All RIGHTS RESERVED.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Create New Account!

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

Bodybuilder is fighting for his life after taking dirty steroids femara uk trump's "operation warp speed" for mass vaxxing. "big bucks for big pharma" - global research