I haven't read this article yet, but the headline grabbed my attention.
What do you think ABOUT THE QUALITY OF THE ARGUMENT?
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COMMENT and REPLY
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/03/20/coronavirus-college-pass-fail/
The authors proposal sounds great on paper, especially from my standpoint. As a student, I would very much love it if all my professors decided to give us students automatic A's due to these unforeseen circumstances. It is a little striking to me that the author, being a professor, would so willingly give A's to all her students, more specifically the ones who may not necessarily deserve it. We are more or less half way through the semester at the time I am writing this so most professors should have a gauge on who the slackers are and aren't. That being said, if I have been working extremely hard for the first half of the semester, why should my grade be the same as someone who hasn't worked nearly as hard as I just because of these unfortunate circumstances? The alternate theory she proposes is giving all students either a pass or a fail. This too opens up to a plethora of problems with scholarships and the like. I don't think there is a right answer here. As much as I would truly appreciate the automatic A, at the same time, it doesn't seem fair. I think the only solution is to grade us accordingly with the quality of the work we submit. It's going to be a difficult adjustment we will have to make due with what resources we have available to us and leniency should be given to those who truly need it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, Nicholas. How can a student who works hard to earn an A, receive the same grade as a student who does not put in the same amount of effort? However, I propose, the idea of granting a "pass or fail" grade would allow all students, (the hard workers and not so hard workers) to earn a grade they deserved. Now,this would also call for a change in coursework and a few adaptations from the teacher (if appropriate). An automatic A is absolutely absurd. However,I can accept a "pass or fail" grade system, if the classwork was adapted to fit this system.
DeleteThe views and arguments of this article are not totally false but not totally true. During this time, everyone, especially the students, are struggling this time. Like my situation, being an international student has no family or relatives to look after. The number of people infected with coronavirus is increasing in New York. The school and everything were shut down. So I decided to return to Vietnam and I'm about to leave New York after 4 hours. And when I return to Vietnam, the time will be different from American time, but I still have to follow American time to catch up with online learning. Not only me but also many other students, especially international students, are facing a lot of difficulties. So we would be very happy to get an A. But just as Nicholas said, it would be unfair that those who do not try hard in the class also receive an A as those who have worked hard.
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ReplyDeleteIn the article a Professor of English at Columbia University highlights the issues which students and professors are experiencing today because of the global pandemia. While I read this article I started to feel a little bit better because she voiced the struggles and fears that I also have and that I am not alone who faced such obstacles. I have a four year old daughter who needs my full attention and I live in a one bedroom apartment, so during online classes I can be easily distracted any moment and what I am most afraid of is time-limited quizzes. In this article in order to reduce pressure from the current situation Professor decided to give all of her students grade A for the spring semester because they already learned a lot of materials. As a student I would like to receive an A, but I understand that it is not quite right and at the same time I think that in today's situation it is hard to say what is right and what is wrong. Today on the Cuny Academic calendar I noticed that we, as a Cuny students, have an option to receive a grade of ‘P’, which as I understood, means “Pass”, and credit for the course with no impact on GPA. I think that this is also not correct. For me it sounds like I did not do any work for this semester and just listen to the lectures.
ReplyDeleteIn the article titled “Forget distance learning. Just give every college student an automatic A,” a professor from Columbia shares her perspective on how the COVID-19 is playing out for students. The author outlines the many cons of the remote learning such as students who don’t have a laptop or students who depend on a paycheck. Additionally, she addresses other problems such as the heavy traffic to online learning websites and challenges to students who take practical classes. Finally, she gives three suggestions that each college should adopt: make assignments to the bare minimum, introduce a mandatory pass-or-fail, and consider giving students an “A” grade as a default.
ReplyDeleteI think that the article sounds very personable to students. As a student, I am down to get “A” grades by default. However, I don’t think that this is realistic because there are students who work hard and it would not be fair to them if people who are not as driven get the same grade. Finally, it would not make sense because part of college is spending certain hours doing work and this would go against the accreditation and other established rules
Ferjana Safa
ReplyDeleteBased off the article the professor seems to bring up some good points. This whole has become somewhat of a struggle for some people. Although it does sound like a good idea to just give everyone an A due to what is going on; I do also think it would be unfair to the people who haven't done anything to deserve an A. As for the quality of her argument, she does make some valid points, but I don’t think they are good enough statements that validate the option of giving A’s to everyone. As Hanna had said in her comment I think at this given moment it’s difficult to say what is considered wrong and right.
In the article above,a professor at Columbia argues that with the worldwide spread of the coronavirus, all students should receive automatic A's in their spring classes. While she does make good solid arguments, it's just not that easy. The first thing that comes to mind is learning. Classes are meant to be about learning, not just a letter grade. But with everything that is going on, there are so many different unique situations for people and we are all honestly dealing with a lot of things. I just don't think in the long run, it would benefit the student.
ReplyDeleteAnd professors need to be mindful of the situation and be much more lenient with grading this semester.
This professor from Columbia University nailed it on her argument. Jenny brought up amazing points how many students suffer from anxiety and depression which I have very much experienced from being extremely overwhelmed with school and having bad professors. I think the emphasis that this transition to online classes now has to be a ton of extra work is silly because when every student began classes and got used to a routine and the demand asked from the class, it was probably bearable for the most part and now, it might cause more issues to get work done especially having such close proximity due dates. Some students may still be mandated to work if they are considered essential workers and having extra work from EVERY single class is just ridiculous. I took a class once where the due date was just the end of the semester. The professor did not care when we completed the homework as long as everything was submitted by the end and it was super convenient being that I work and go to school. Therefore, I think CUNY or professors themselves can make this easier for everyone by either keeping the workload the same as it was in person, extending due dates or just not fail any one. I don't think everyone deserves an A because obviously that should be earned but no one should be punished during this time and fail with all of life's circumstances at the moment. Like Jenny Davidson said, some of us rely on our checks to survive which is 100% a priority. The education system needs to find a balance for both students and professors to live a balanced lifestyle for at least this unfortunate semester.
ReplyDeleteReading the article, I understand her point of view regarding grades. She argues that professors should consider giving students an A grade or at least enforce the "Pass or Fail" option. I understand that the pandemic is affecting all students and professor educational wise because people have other responsibilities to take care of like work, taking care of siblings or children etc. Right now for most people, school related work isn't a priority for them at the moment. But, I think some students wouldn't like this idea because they could argue that they put in a lot of work to get that A while another student probably did nothing and still receive an A Personally, if this was implemented for this class, I wouldn't ask for an "A" because that wouldn't be fair to others but i'll take anything within the range of C- to B. So far, I missed 2 assignments and I did decent on the quizzes so I don't think an A would be an appropriate grade for me realistically speaking but i'll definitely be grateful if I get it.
ReplyDeleteRight now I think it's hard to determine how colleges should go about this. We also have to understand some classes aren't meant to be taught online but rather in person like chemistry or any lab related classes that require hands on experience. We also have to understand some teachers would rather teach in person instead of online and now they are forced to do so.
I believe Jenny Davidson brings up a great point. Within the article, Davidson states “Education isn’t just about mastering material and improving skills. Education is about ethics. It’s about learning how to be a better member of a community, whatever that community is (a classroom or a college, but also a family, a workplace, a civic polity). It’s about understanding how to balance the drive toward intellectual development and mastery of new concepts and material with self-care and the sane management of responsibilities to the broader community.”. I believe this statement, speaks volumes because, grades are not the only aspect that matters in education. Yes, your work performance and efforts in education, earns you a well-deserved grade. However, more importantly, education relies on our community, and when circumstances are shifted, and needs are altered, education needs to adapt.
ReplyDeleteRegarding, our current pandemic; our community is under an obscene amount of stress. Students/teachers are being pulled from schools, families are scavenging for necessities, and individuals are losing their incomes. Above all, families are losing their loved ones, abruptly. Our school system, and grading format works best for our standard school sessions. However, in the verge of a crisis, school officials need to adapt and modify education in a way that best meets the needs of their students, teachers, and community as a whole. I believe this articles message is much more than just “give students an A” or “pass or fail”. I believe it is a call for help, a call for change. As Davidson says, “What students and teachers alike need is for university leaders to help us all to do the right thing…”.
She does bring up some interesting points about how some people are under pressure due to this change to distance learning. While I do feel that its a way to help those who are unprepared, the professor goes way too out of hand by just giving her students A's. She could just be a bit more lenient on the grading of stuff and if students have issues she could talk to them a little or be open to talk to students about their situation if they are struggling. I believe this is a time to be helping one another rather than pushing each other to our limits. At this point people are at their limits with the stress from just the semester and with the virus pushing us even further people find themselves either focusing on their studies or just struggling with their new living conditions.
ReplyDeleteWell since Professor Carasi is asking for an honest response here I go. I didn't have to read more then 5 minutes into this article to fall in love with it. One reason specifically who wouldn't want an A automatically? Secondly something that happened to me relatively recently I was Skyping with Professor Carasi and he had some pretty harsh words with me and standards for the work we turn into him as well. I bring this point up because I find it funny how he assigns us something like this to read, and responded to THEN he tells me over Skype how I am privileged and bargain my way out of everything because I am an American born young man. He claims I do not know hardship, kind of funny to be told that when the man knows nothing about my life. But getting back to the fact, my response for this article is this. Do not assign something like this to read when you are holding standards of work in this class as if you are the one giving out the diplomas. This article is merely a tease that I do not enjoy. It is a beautiful idea and a majority, if not ALL professors are conducting their "classrooms" this way beside Professor FGC. Hats off to the author Jenny Davidson, it's a great writing to read with greats points that strike a very strong argument.
ReplyDeleteThe title of the article didn't really capture my intrest but the topic of the article did. I along with numerous classmates how hard this epedmeic has been on the semster and how difficult it has been to adjust to the now normal everyday routine of our education and everyday lives. I personally has had a hard time adjusting because of the lack of resources in my house to do my school work and working in a health care facility and dealing with my anxiety of trying to keep up with work and taking care of my health and trying not to spread it to any of my older family members. I condem all of the professors who have made it their personl mission to make sure that their students are on task and are making sure that no one who needs the help is left behind.
ReplyDeleteAll I had to do was read the title and I was fully onboard. But as much as I love the idea, I know it will never be implemented. In the article the author raises many good points, including that distance learning isn’t the only thing students and instructors have to adjust to. A large portion of peoples’ everyday lives have been changed in a very short period of time, which poses many issues. For the advanced courses that fulfill university or major requirements, the adjustment will be even more difficult. I am currently taking statistics for the behavioral sciences (Psyc 3400), and on the first day the professor told my class of roughly 120 students that “if you were to fail a class this semester it would be this one”. Now that we are no longer able to attend in person lectures it has made the material a lot more difficult. It has not only affected us students but it has affected our professor. During our last lecture on Blackboard Ultra our professor got so frustrated by the fact that the audio was so broken and inconsistent that he decided to end the lecture because half an hour had gone by and we were only able to get through one practice question which was a review of what we learned in our previous class. Although I am all for getting an A, I think the pass/fail option is ultimately best for this situation. And also while scrolling through the comments I noticed a very good point made by one of our classmates which was giving everyone an A takes away from those that actually worked for the grade.
ReplyDeleteI believe her argument holds a lot of quality. What she states in the article would be very beneficial to all students, especially those who are struggling with the transition from in class learning to online class learning. In doing this it would take the stress of having to keep up with multiple due dates and deadlines off college students minds. She does mention that students will be graded off of the work in which they have already completed. Which makes sense but, if I were to be completely honest, for some classes the knowledge of certain topics is needed for the next class.If we were to discontinue learning the topics of the class we would only struggle more in the future when its time to take a related class. I am all for this Idea. She makes very good points. I do agree with others on the fact that some students work harder than others to receive a good grade, But hey, what is one A going to do to someone's transcript filled with C's... nothing really so Why not.
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