Grade grubbers are simply preparing for the real world | Barbara Ellen

Yes, some students can be needy but they have seen what lies ahead of them

Academics report that “grade grubbing” (the practice of university students trying to negotiate better grades) is on the rise. Some tutors put this down to parents overpraising their children, turning them into fully fledged narcissists, who feel so precious, gifted and talented that they can’t deal with a world or a marking system that doesn’t agree with their own appraisal of themselves.

Then there’s the effect of increased tuition fees. The new breed of student-client no longer tolerates being challenged, tested and graded by the system. They want to be rewarded, to get their “money’s worth”. Which, for some, isn’t a 2:2 and a rude awakening that they’re not as clever as they thought they were. Who could have seen it coming, that uber-monetising higher education would devalue the purity of learning? Oh, hang on, quite a few did and were ignored.

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from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2H10otj