When I was going to school online to get my software engineering degree, one of my professors sent out an email about grading shortly before the class began. It seems that online schools are under a lot of scrutiny now for being too “easy”. This perception comes from the fact that a higher percentage of students graduate with honors from online schools than from brick and mortar schools.
This professor believed that this was caused by the entitlement mentality of the students, and the easy-going nature of the professors. This professor remarked that he always got students who, after turning in an assignment, expected to get full credit for it simply because they turned it in. In the student’s mind, it didn’t matter if the work was of poor quality, had mistakes, or was not the best solution to the problem. The student felt that if they did the work, they should get full credit for it. And many professors would rather oblige the student than deal with the hate emails.
This professor’s take was that if you turned in average work, you got an average score. If there were mistakes or the work was poor quality, then you scored less than average. If you did exceptionally well, then you got full credit. In other words, you got the equivalent of a “C” for average work, and the rest of the credit scaled up or down from there. Just like in a traditional brick and mortar school.
To me, the really sad thing is that the majority of the students attending schools online are adults. These are not kids fresh out of high-school. These are people working full-time jobs, supposedly trying to improve their lives by going to school and getting a degree.
Did you get a promotion at your job just for showing up and doing the minimal amount of work?
If you are a business owner, does your business grow just because you show up, answer a few emails or phone calls, and pay some bills?
Hey, I woke up this morning. I showed up for Life. Where’s my reward?
Yeah, that’s what I thought. You’ve got to keep pushing yourself to do better. Master the basics. Improve your skills. Learn new strategies. Don’t just go through the motions.
It takes very little effort to coast, but it takes a focused degree of force to accelerate.
Are YOU coasting or accelerating in Life right now?
