Posted on 02/18/2009 7:15:01 AM PST by reaganaut1
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A recent study by researchers at the University of California, Irvine, found that a third of students surveyed said that they expected B’s just for attending lectures, and 40 percent said they deserved a B for completing the required reading.
“I noticed an increased sense of entitlement in my students and wanted to discover what was causing it” said Ellen Greenberger, the lead author of the study, called “Self-Entitled College Students: Contributions of Personality, Parenting, and Motivational Factors,” which appeared last year in The Journal of Youth and Adolescence.
Professor Greenberger said that the sense of entitlement could be related to increased parental pressure, competition among peers and family members and a heightened sense of achievement anxiety.
Aaron M. Brower, the vice provost for teaching and learning at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, offered another theory.
“I think that it stems from their K-12 experiences,” Professor Brower said. “They have become ultra-efficient in test preparation. And this hyper-efficiency has led them to look for a magic formula to get high scores.”
James Hogge, associate dean of the Peabody School of Education at Vanderbilt University, said: “Students often confuse the level of effort with the quality of work. There is a mentality in students that ‘if I work hard, I deserve a high grade.’ “
In line with Dean Hogge’s observation are Professor Greenberger’s test results. Nearly two-thirds of the students surveyed said that if they explained to a professor that they were trying hard, that should be taken into account in their grade.
Jason Greenwood, a senior kinesiology major at the University of Maryland echoed that view.
“I think putting in a lot of effort should merit a high grade,” Mr. Greenwood said. “What else is there really than the effort that you put in?”
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
The college students will carry their entitlement mentality into the workforce.
“A recent study by researchers at the University of California, Irvine, found that a third of students surveyed said that they expected B’s just for attending lectures, and 40 percent said they deserved a B for completing the required reading.”
I’m glad I no longer teach at the university level. Apparently, things have changed a lot over the decades.
For folks who showed up for the lectures and completed the required reading, turned in all assignments and took all tests and quizzes, but who showed no achievement or aptitude, I’d generally find my way to a D.
I don’t think I’d last in today’s environment.
More often than not I’ve gotten grades better than I felt like I deserved (I’m smart but lazy). There’s only one class—in college or law school—where I truly think I deserved a better grade than I got, and that prof still has a dark place in my heart.
The young college students are used to getting good grades for just showing up in classes with little substance. Process is what matters , thanks to the Ed Schools.
They will eventually destroy college standards, too, as you stated.
Oh, well, these college grads can all get degrees in Women’s Studies, Urban Studies, or Education, then become government workers of one sort or another.
Addendum: There’s always a future for them in Journalism, too.
“Student retention” is Big Ed’s mantra, because money is their driving concern. What better way to scare off education dollars than to flunk out students?
“Give ‘em good grades, Professor. We need the money.”
I teach organic chemistry at a small college. I’m constantly astounded by how many of my students don’t even do the assigned reading. They spend almost $200 (they complain bitterly about the cost) for a beautifully written, designed, and produced textbook, then most of them never bother to crack it open.
These scholars expect to succeed by listening to lecture (without taking adequate notes) and asking me questions easily answered by using the index in the textbook.
/rant
When in college I was struggling with thermodynamics (I wasn't studying much either). I went to the Prof for help, and he curtly suggested that maybe I wasn't smart enough to be a chemical engineer. That pissed me off, I dug in my heals and managed to pull out a B by the end of the semester. It really stung, but it taught me that I had to work for things.
We have a winner! The school doesn't get any money if the students aren't there paying (or having their parents, or the government, or somebody pay). This is the same reasoning that keeps disinterested and disruptive students in public schools: bodies in the seats equals dollars in the budget.
At least in college, students who absolutely don't want to be there don't have to show up for class.
“An increase in the sense of entitlement...” In a nation run by leftist politicians and a leftist media? Well knock me over with a feather!
I teach organic chemistry at a large university. I’m surprised that your scholars come to lecture. I spend far more of my time adjudicating grades than helping students learn the material. My most frequent questions start with: “do we need to know .....”
Unless attendance was absolutely mandatory, you could bet your *** I’d never show up for a lecture. Getting a good grade in college is a piece of cake if you have any sort of intelligence. Do the assigned reading as mentioned in the syllabus, write your papers with perfect grammar and logic, and show up for quizzes and tests, and you’re guaranteed a B. I always hated professors who demanded attendance to their classes, especially for some lousy General Ed requirement. Sure, if it was a lab course, I’d understand, but I generally had better things to do with my time otherwise.
What’s the smallest amount of effort I can put forth and still get a B?
If a student is ultra-efficient in test preparation then they should get high scores.
What am I missing here?
“Student retention” is Big Ed’s mantra, because money is their driving concern. What better way to scare off education dollars than to flunk out students?
“Give ‘em good grades, Professor. We need the money.”
True dat. But at least in public universities much of the schools’ increased dependence on tuition money to keep the doors open is a direct result of declining public support. To use UW-Madison as an example, they went from 43% of their budget being taxpayer funded in 1973 to just under 21 percent in 2003 (http://www.madisonmagazine.com/article.php?section_id=918&xstate=view_story&story_id=155312). Given roughly 4% annual inflation, sharp rises in the cost of healthcare, and the fact that schools must compete nationally to keep and retain first-rate faculty and admins, the money to keep the doors open has to come from somewhere. A lot comes from donors, grants, and (increasingly) corporate entities, but the lion’s share has to come from tuition. Two problems there: first, the price of even a public-U education skyrockets, driving students into big-time debt before they even enter the job-market, second, students become customers, and the degree becomes a commodity, bought and paid for. That’s why students feel entitled to good grades, I’m pretty sure: they paid for them.
Boy howdy have things changed. In an increasing number of cases, parents show up to contest their kid’s grade.
Too bad we don’t have more “Professor Kingsfields” in our Universities, “Here is a dime, call your mother and tell her there’s considerable doubt about you ever becoming an attorney.”
I recently went to a high school graduation, step son's. I was happy to see he was considered to be graduating with honors that is until I noticed that 75% of those graduating were so listed. I am not joking here: when he was a junior he did not know where Massachusetts was located except that it was up in the north east “somewhere”. He also cannot do simple math without a calculator albeit he did get straight A's in all his math classes. Now then, one has to wonder about the 25% who are not at that level!
The guy with the sandwich board around Times Square during the 70’s that read the end is near was prophetic.
Probably that the statement in the article was garbage. If the students are doing well on tests or papers, they should be getting good grades; it appears they want good grades just for breathing.
The other possibility is that grades have criteria other than work turned in, such as class participation or the expression of "appropriate" beliefs and attitudes. That would work against a student who just showed up in class.
I found that the teachers who required attendance taught straight from the book, and so anyone worthy of being in the course could have aced it even without attending lectures.
On the other hand, my professors who didn't take attendance also didn't teach from the text, which was more or less supplementary material, and not attending class could be quite hazardous to one's success in the class.
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