Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Or do C students have no identity at all. I do see A students building their identity around their GPA but I see C students floundering. Often they have no clue who they are and have nothing in their life that they consider success because for students high grades = success. At the start of the year I have my students decorate folders to put their work into throughout the year and one of the quadrants is set aside for a success. That one is a struggle for many students. Perhaps the C student answers with their name because they have nothing else to answer with.
I agree that C students are more likely to work off the beaten path because the beaten path doesn't work for them. It works for the A student. That's the student who will get into the best schools, programs and get the most scholarships to continue on the beaten path. The C student is left to figure out something on their own not because that is their nature but because that's the only choice left. We hand things to the kids who follow the rules, who jump through the hoops and then leave the rest to figure it out on their own. Some do and some don't. Some become entrepreneurs and some become drug addicts.
The issue IMO is how we treat A students vs C students. We SAY we want individuals but reward the student who follows the rules. IMO this thwarts creativity. I hate that colleges go after the kids with high GPA's. Those are the kids who are just good at following rules. We have this idea there is only one path to success when there should be many.
I agree with your last sentence, but I've known many "A" students who were marching to a different drummer, and many "C" students who weren't engaged in much of anything. If you have a passion for something, be it physics or drama or whatever, you're going to try to do as well as you can.
I think you've misinterpreted something along the way. From my experience, being a socialite had nothing to do with being an A student, nor were there extra blocks for in-house tutoring (???) and homework. They got no more, and often less support than the C students. What they did do was work their butts off. Sports and afterschool clubs means more time working on something and less time for play. School, practice, meetings, activities, homework were their life. They didn't have the "best of all worlds" like you believe; they went on to become whatever they did because of the work ethic, not because someone handed it to them.
I might agree with you, but if I recall correctly, those involved in sports did get a lot more help and support from the teachers than regular students, and they did get extra time to do their homework. Yes, they were busy, but I imagine if my teacher coached a sport I played and gave me extra time after school in her classroom to complete my homework, I probably would have had straight A's, too. I personally was much too shy to ask my teachers for any help.
I was having a conversation with a past colleague, who I met for lunch the other day. After catching up, we went off on a tangent about psychology theories, one the stuff he's into. He talked about how A-students and C-students find out who they are while growing up. Namely, kids who get straight A's put all their eggs in one basket, when it comes to their sense of self: the academics being pushed onto them. While kids who get mostly C's quickly learn to separate trash from treasure, and figure out which messages to embrace and which to disregard. Then as young adults, C-students have a much easier time finding themselves than A-students, be it through partying, hobbies, or college coursework.
He summarized it this way: "If you ask an A-student 'Who are you?', he will say '6th-grader at [Name of School]'. If you ask a C-student 'Who are you?', he will say 'John Smith'." The same is true for adults: a former A-student will say his job description, and a former C-student will say his name. (Unless they came to a different mindset over the years.) Neither were my past colleague's original beliefs; it's something he read on a psychology site, accepted for himself, and shared with me.
So how true do you think this is? (the italicized statement)
I find most C- minus students aren't aware of this type of thinking. I.e. answering without being lead. That's why the majority of C, or lower students, are C students. A students aren't all just genius who never have to study. They understand to apply themselves. I have limited experience with children but in the summer camp I once worked at, I noticed the smart kids usually had older siblings or more interactions with adults. I.e. they were expected to step up to the plate and contribute something instead of just being praised for any garbage they spouted/handed to them. A true example, the smarter campers asked me "Can I use any color?" for the craft. The answer was yes. Where as the C students asked "Can I use (specific) color?" after hearing the question and my answer. This was something that happened often with such tasks. I know it wasn't they didn't hear.
Last edited by toobusytoday; 10-03-2016 at 08:36 AM..
Reason: fixed typo
Bear in mind that "C" is, by definition, average. Not simpleminded, intellectually impaired, stupid, failing, whatever other label along those lines you might come up with. C is average. Middle of the road, literally. A couple of notches below excelling, and just as many above failing.
I don't know that I buy the line of thought that "C [average] students aren't capable of complex thinking and wouldn't understand _________." And that's having taught, being highly aware of the developmental process, and .having had something more than a limited experience with children.
Another urban myth that sounds good mainly because so many are jealous of the A students so they look for ways to somehow state a negative about the A students.
You know what it is. I once read this online fable about some guy who sells fruit. I forgot the exact fruit. He's so good at saying selling apples he's very rich. They make him be in charge of all of the schools for a city. He goes into this whole spiel about how he makes his apples so good. A teacher asks him basically what to do with the stupid kids and rowdy kids. He says throw them out as they did with the bad apples at the farm. The teacher reminds me LEGALLY you can't do such. He resigns from his job in the schools. I think we have this weird notion that all children are secretly smart or specials. Murders were once children, too. I know that's a bit extreme, but some people are bad apples. I think with children we try to make it that we failed them and hence they're whatever fault they have. For example, when a poor child grows up and ODs we say it was due to poverty. If a rich child grows up and ODs we claim they were spoiled. Which is it? I'm just saying, I think sometimes we just realizes a C student is a stupid child/lazy child/ect not so secret genius we're all to "ignorant" to see.
TL;DR: Where do you think stupid adults came from? Student children.
Bear in mind that "C" is, by definition, average. Not simpleminded, intellectually impaired, stupid, failing, whatever other label along those lines you might come up with. C is average. Middle of the road, literally. A couple of notches below excelling, and just as many above failing.
I don't know that I buy the line of thought that "C [average] students aren't capable of complex thinking and wouldn't understand _________." And that's having taught, being highly aware of the developmental process, and .having had something more than a limited experience with children.
With these student that I knew in person, I could honestly say they weren't smart. I.e. it wasn't that they were misunderstood or the A students say got something special they weren't getting. If they had a tutor, they'd be just as dumb. I could basically do the whole project for them and they would be confused or ask a stupid question. I feel the question was stupid, because it was either answered or instructed earlier to them.
I might agree with you, but if I recall correctly, those involved in sports did get a lot more help and support from the teachers than regular students, and they did get extra time to do their homework. Yes, they were busy, but I imagine if my teacher coached a sport I played and gave me extra time after school in her classroom to complete my homework, I probably would have had straight A's, too. I personally was much too shy to ask my teachers for any help.
Perhaps your recollections aren't correct. The bold would cover one class, one year, or maybe just one semester, if true at all. My kids never had that experience; their coach wasn't a teacher.
Perhaps your recollections aren't correct. The bold would cover one class, one year, or maybe just one semester, if true at all. My kids never had that experience; their coach wasn't a teacher.
At least one of my high school teachers was a baseball coach, and another was an intimidating cheerleading coach. I remember she misinterpreted something I said to her and used it to make fun of me. High school was a terrible place for the people who were academically inclined but marched to the beat of their own drummer. It felt like the "regulars"-- the sports players and cheerleaders--ruled the school. Everyone knew who the cheerleaders were. They would go to class in their short skirts and cheerleading uniforms. They would run for student president and prom queen. That was reality back then.
The question seems to be whether high achievers in an academic environment are more likely to be proud of their accomplishments than those who have not distinguished themselves in this way.
Is it not natural, and no surprise, that they are?
Maybe the question should have compared A to B students, as grade inflation means that C students are really missing the boat-at least in schools around here.
What kind of weirdo drops the name of their school into an introduction?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
