OPINION
WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2005
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JORDAN'S JARGON
Focusing on GPA misses point of college education
JOHN JORDAN
jjordan@kansan.com
The University Daily Kansasan reported April 21 that grade point averages have risen 11 percent in the last 20 years here at the University of Kansas. It's to the point where an "average" student has nearly an "above-average" GPA — nearly a "B."
In the article, Neil Mulka wrote that Lawrence is becoming like the fictional Lake Wobegone, Minn., where all the students are above average.
Mimh., where all the students are there. There are many possible factors for this grade inflation. Society expects more from students today. College admissions and scholarships are GPA-heavy. The rising costs of tuition are leading to rising expectations of students' grades.
Our society is partly to blame. The path to attending college begins with getting good grades. Colleges need an objective way to look at students. Grades are simple and easily ranked, which lets colleges quickly evaluate potential students. Parents, teachers and counselors
Why? Because students at this University, and most other universities, are
But focusing on the issue of rising GPAs ignores a bigger problem. Students measure their success in school with letters and numbers instead of what they learn.
at they tell you. Do you deserve an "A" if you get an 89.4 percent on a test? No, you don't. But this slight distinction of percentage points infuriates some students here at the University.
encourage students to get good grades to get into college.
This leads to grade inflation in high school, which leaves high school students with false expectations about grading in college. Hence, college grades can go up, like they are here. More importantly, it diminishes the value of a hard-earned "A."
obsessed with grades. They talk about turning "Cs" to "Bs," but they don't worry about what's important. They believe getting good grades is doing well in school.
Do you deserve an "A" if you get an 89.4 percent on a test? No,you don't But this slight distinction of percentage points infuriates some students here at the University.
But they're wrong. The point of going to class is not to get good grades. It's not the letters and numbers, it's meeting people, seeing new things and learning that really matter. Grades are only an objective way to measure success. Nonetheless, students can't seem to follow this concept.
To combat grade inflation, Princeton University voted last year to reduce the number of "As" given by 25 percent.
Don't get me wrong, grades are necessary for student evaluation. Without them, it would be impossible to compare students.
pare students.
But that does not mean that students need to place all their focus on grades. The last thing a teacher wants to hear at this time of the year is, "Is this going to be on the
test?" Students concentrate on grades so much that they forget that grades are only part of what education is.
Remember that college is not about how good your grades were. No one ever says, "Gee, I wish I could have raised that 'B' plus to an 'A' minus in psychology." So keep in mind that grades are just grades the next time you get an 89 percent on a test.
- Jordan is a Salina junior in journalism.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Columnist doesn't look at all facts conservatives good for economy
When I first read the inflammatory opinion column by Stephen Shupe in Thursday's University Daily Kansan, I knew I had to respond, but there were so many problems with it that I didn't know where to begin. A start would be to point out that it is unwise for people as unphotogenic as Mr. Shupe to begin an article with an ad hominem attack concerning someone's appearance. (I guess the Kansan's policy against attacking people on its editorial page doesn't apply to the likes of Mr. Shupe.)
I thought I would start by pointing out that while Mr. Shupe's attempt at satire attempts to expose why conservatives are the worst thing for the economy since Jimmy Carter, in actuality, the facts clearly show that the same things that Mr. Shupie ridicules, such as free markets, deregulation and lower taxes, are the very things that have been proven time and time again to produce the greatest economic benefits.
If you don't believe me, just look at the difference between East and West Germany. If capitalism and free markets are so bad, then why, over a decade after re-unification, is the eastern half of Germany still trying to catch up economically, socially and in terms of infrastructure? Even today, after Germany has taken the advice that Mr. Shupe advocates and has "socialized" its economy, unemployment in Germany last month reached a postwar record of 12 percent. On top of that, the massive entitlement programs that Mr. Shupe seems to advocate have bankrupted the German economy. And if you don't believe that means that Germany is having economic problems right now, just envision the United States in 20 years when our entitlement programs begin to go bankrupt and imagine what types of economic woes that will cause.
Another example of a divided country is Korea. After the initial partitioning of the country and after the end of the Korean War, it looked as if the North, which had the majority of the
power-producing and heavy industrial facilities, would forever be economically stronger than the agrarian South. However, by the 1970s, South Korea's economy out stripped the North's and today, South Korea has one of the highest living standards in the world, while North Korea has one of the lowest. This isn't the result of luck, or good fortune, but, instead this has occurred because of the radically different economic approaches the two countries took.
approaches the two countries. Another problem with Mr. Shupe's column is that he doesn't seem to understand basic economics. This sounds like a mean thing to say, but if you don't understand that raising the minimum wage will increase unemployment because businesses won't have the money to hire more people, then you probably also don't know that the people most impacted by this type of phenomenon in Lawrence would be college students who would find it tougher to find entry-level jobs that they need to help pay for their education and living expenses. If Mr. Shupe doesn't understand how this works or that most college students need even low-paying jobs to make the rent, then he probably shouldn't be bashing others because of their economic policies.
because of their economic position. In the end, Mr. Shupe's column is nothing more than the same old angry diatribe about conservatives not caring about anything except money. I realize that the point which his column tries to make is that conservative policies ignore social justice and benefit few, but what everyone needs to realize is that conservative economic policies are proven to grow the economy as a whole, and in the words of someone who was pro-tax cuts, pro-business, and progrowth, John F. Kennedy, "A rising tide lifts all boats."
Joshua Goetting Leavenworth junior Political science and East Asian languages and cultures KU College Republicans events coordinator
Free All for
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I hear that after the State Board of Education is done with its hearings about evolution, it's going to challenge the teaching of gravity, since Jesus did walk on water.
It must be a slow news day when you have to put in three pages about J.R. Giddens.
Call 864-0500
Will someone please take Psychology 470 with me?
I never thought I'd say this, but I just got stood up by a hat.
The Naismith fire alarm has gone off twice now. Whoever's visiting from McColum, go home.
If you're gonna get any, you've got to first take off your Pampers.
Let's all give in to deliciousness the Pretzel Wagon way.
Steve Sack/STAR TRIBUNE
▼ SACK'S PERSPECTIVE
First Amendment right threatened in workplace
KAT'S CALL
This is a warning to all free-thinkers. Put down that pen, because your opinion could get you fired. Speech is not as free as you think.
KATHRYN ANDERSON
kanderson@kansan.com
free as you like.
Sgt. Kevin Housh, an Omaha, Neb., police officer,
knew a lot about the Omaha Police Department's response
times. He knew that the
station to the scene.
In the article, Housh wrote, "They refuse to do it, they know they've screwed up, and rather than admitting guilt, they (whoever they are) will make history and try to control what is said/revealed during union meetings regarding response times."
during union meetings. Promptly firing the opinionated officer, police chief Thomas Warren said Housh's conduct "constitutes gross disrespect and insubordination."
times. He knew that the department recorded false 911 response times. In his March 11 article for "The Shield," a union newsletter, Housh blew the whistle on the chief of police. He called for the department to begin accurately recording response times rather than recording only the time officers spent driving from the station to the scene.
tion."
The U.S. Constitution's amendments promise citizens a few vital rights. "Congress shall make no law," our forefathers wrote, "abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press." Assuming "congress" implies government on all levels, the police department just breached a Constitutional right. Alexander Meiklejohn, a First Amendment theorist, believed all political or public speech is protected under the amendment. Meiklejohn said speech concerning public welfare could not under any circumstances be abridged.
under any circumstances be abrogated.
After a great deal of media attention, the police department reinstated Housh on Sunday. But free speech enthusiasts should hold their applause. As a condition of his reinstatement, Housh must not only drop the lawsuit he filed against Warren, but also serve a 20-day no-pay suspension, and he has been removed from the Omaha SWAT team. The negotiation also called for a public apology, and not by the police department. Housh issued a letter saying, "I do not believe the words 'criminal' or 'liar' accurately describe the mayor or the chief. ... I apologize that my message was not clear."
Housh's problem is by no means isolated. Even beyond the Midwest, government condemns those brave enough to raise a hand, or pen, against "The Man." A Los Angeles district attorney found himself demoted after testifying against a sheriff who allegedly led to obtain a search war-Court will hear the case in the
fall.
Almost 40 years ago, a landmark case, Pickering v. Board of Education, ruled in favor of free speech for public employees. Pickering, who was fired from a teaching job after a local newspaper published his scatcheting letter about the school district, said, "You cannot improve any public body if you don't have freedom of information about what that public body is doing."
rant. The Supreme Court will hear the case in fall.
While U.S. Supreme Court rulings uphold the legitimacy of the First Amendment, they don't always sway in the direction of free speech. In 1983, the court failed to protect a district attorney who distributed a critical questionnaire to her colleagues. She lost her job.
issues. She lost her job. The possible repercussions of speaking out are alarming. When government entities fire employees for exposing the truth, future whistle-blowers hesitate to speak out on other public atrocities. Far more frightening is the suppression of the general public's awareness. Housh did not criticize the police chief's personal life, nor did it impede the function of the police department. The issue at stake is public safety and departmental dishonesty. If a KU Public Safety officer expressed his disapproval of the service's regulations in a letter to The University Daily Kansan, could he be canned? In the name of free speech, no — in the spirit of government oppression, absolutely.
absolutely.
The essence of the First Amendment is that speech is an inalienable right. Speech and expression are part of mankind's ongoing search for truth, and it cannot be taken away by government. Exposing wrongdoers is a right of the public and its duty.
Anderson is an Omaha, Neb., junior in journalism and English.
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