The Grade vs. The Change
When I attended Texas A&M, some of the older faculty members told an apocryphal story about bathroom graffiti. As the story goes, written on the bathroom wall was the complaint, "The problem with this place is that they're always trying to change you." To which another person responded likewise in graffiti, "If they don't, get your money back."
I'm a university professor. At the end of every semester, end-of-term begging commences. The bartering usually amounts to this: How can I get a certain grade? "I know I have a D average, but could I get a C?" I know my grades tally up to an 88.7%, but could it possibly be 90%?"
“Getting the grade is simply a matter of completing a task.
Being changed by the process changes your identity.”
I saw the unfortunate transition happen to student behavior over the years I taught. We couldn't talk about ideas for the sake of their value, but for the ever-present question, "Will this be on the test?".
When you're working toward a grade, you're working toward completing a task. And, sometimes, this is absolutely acceptable. If you just need to install a ceiling fan, nbd, get it knocked out.
But if you're going to be an electrician, you can't get a grade. You need to work on changing your identity.
If you're training to be a nurse, you can't just pass the test on the process of starting an IV, you have to change how you think about yourself. This isn't knowledge you acquire; you're literally transforming who you are.
If you're in a PhD program, you're not just writing a paper to check off a box; you're becoming a scholar.
If you're going through a spiritual test, you're not enduring it for the sake of surviving; you're becoming a saint.
Nurses, electricians, doctors, scholars, and saints don't need the grade; they need the change.