American cynicism, cheat to succeed (#2156)

Too many studies show that our American educational system is not working very well in it's intent to actually teach our students. It is all about the grades and not about the lessons learned about historical facts nor the processes that involve comprehensive calculations, rather the lesson learned is to get the highest grade. Personally, I watched it happen in my own studies when I was in school and then later in college. Students would go to the teachers or their parents would and grades would somehow be elevated in most instances. Promises made or persuasion put to bear were the gist of the pressures for making it happen. Later in college, many students would go to the teacher's aides who were often in charge of grading tests to elevate the grades based upon after the fact arguments. I heard several which solely consisted of the damage done by a lower grade to the students grade point average and the awful effect it would have on that students ability to get into a select graduate program. I never took advantage of this type of leverage in that I wanted my own efforts in the testing process to be fair to not only me but to the other students I was being compared with. Yet, like clockwork, many who initially got the same grade as myself later bragged at how they were able to manipulate their grades into a higher percentile. I often felt cheated by this behind the scenes process but nevertheless I was content enough in my own honor. So now we have students who are less informed about the subject and more informed about how to manipulate the process. You can see for yourself how this alone is enough to degrade professional knowledge. This is at the higher levels of learning and even worse is the elementary education we are not providing as a basic foundation for too many who get left behind. No wonder too many children turn to alternative methods, such at the underground economy and black market, for their often fleeting economic security. It is known by many yet we don't do the reforms needed to stop it. Cheat to succeed seems to be our gift to the world.