One of my instructors once urged me to see the scores I received in his courses as showing what I could do well and some of the ghastly mistakes I could make in real life, that is, life outside of taking tests in school. His point was that the scores I received included some of the smart decisions that I could make in real life and some of the decisions that would be quite harmful if I made them in real life. Those were the days when education was not just about earning a letter grade but also about forming the person.
I bring this up not just to help us think about what grades might imply but also to raise the issue of the recent Brexit election that pulled Britain out of the European Union and whose consequences we are still to fully grasp. I understand that many people in Britain voted without knowing what they were voting for and are now regretting their votes. Imagine that the following question was asked in a civics test at school:
Which of the following will be the most appropriate thing to do before you cast a ballot for or against a particular issue?
a) Study the issue carefully before casting the ballot
b) Casting the ballot before studying the issue
c) Casting the ballot whether or not you know about the issue
d) All of the above
A student who selects b) would obviously be making a poor choice. This poor choice would only be reflected in the student's score that may or may not affect the student's overall performance in the course. However, when we raise enough people who would choose b) in real life, like it just happened in Britain, the value of the pound declines, stock markets tumble, and the whole of Europe and other parts of the world begin to live in fear. And this is not the first time the power of stupid is being manifested in international affairs. The sad thing is that it will not be the last.
I bring this up not just to help us think about what grades might imply but also to raise the issue of the recent Brexit election that pulled Britain out of the European Union and whose consequences we are still to fully grasp. I understand that many people in Britain voted without knowing what they were voting for and are now regretting their votes. Imagine that the following question was asked in a civics test at school:
Which of the following will be the most appropriate thing to do before you cast a ballot for or against a particular issue?
a) Study the issue carefully before casting the ballot
b) Casting the ballot before studying the issue
c) Casting the ballot whether or not you know about the issue
d) All of the above
A student who selects b) would obviously be making a poor choice. This poor choice would only be reflected in the student's score that may or may not affect the student's overall performance in the course. However, when we raise enough people who would choose b) in real life, like it just happened in Britain, the value of the pound declines, stock markets tumble, and the whole of Europe and other parts of the world begin to live in fear. And this is not the first time the power of stupid is being manifested in international affairs. The sad thing is that it will not be the last.
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