As a sophomore in college, I sometimes reflect on my time in high school when I thought of my goals as merely getting good grades or a certain GPA. Although these are reasonable short-term goals, they did not provide meaningful motivation or a deeper purpose for me to really take my education seriously. In fact, I had never thought about, much less understood, why education was important beyond academic performance. However, since I have completely reshaped how I think about and approach education in the past year, I have noticed a gap between how education is often pursued and what truly matters.
Through my experience in the American public school system, I have noticed that its structure and function greatly differ from my own beliefs about the role education should play. In trying to figure out what may be the reason for this, I was reminded of a famous criminological theory: Merton’s Strain Theory. In offering a theory to explain criminal behavior, Merton claims that the American Dream places an overemphasis on the typical American goal of obtaining wealth and becoming successful, while not placing enough emphasis on and limiting access to the legitimate means of obtaining this goal. It is this priority of achieving the dream over doing so through genuine means that causes strain and frustrates certain individuals into obtaining their goals through illegal means, and therefore to commit crimes.Â
This particular theory reminds me of my high school experience, and I can’t help but think that there may be some parallelism. Just as society emphasizes wealth over legitimate means, schools emphasize grades over really learning. This is reflected in our education system, where the material goal of achieving good grades is stressed over actually obtaining these goals through genuine means. For example, the importance put on GPA and the competitive environment this creates at school has the effect of shifting the focus from genuine learning and growth to getting good grades, which can lead to a number of issues. Especially with the rise of AI, the number of times I hear “Oh, I’ll just ChatGPT it” is genuinely concerning.Though schools usually praise honesty and integrity, the system creates an environment that prioritizes grades, and it is only further reinforced through peers. These issues ultimately lead to a view of school as a stage that needs to be completed to eventually secure a job, undermining the learning process.
This raises the question of what the actual end of education is. Personally, my view of education as something of intrinsic value aligns with the philosophy of education developed by John Dewey, a 20th-century philosopher and psychologist. In his 1916 work, Democracy and Education, Dewey views education not merely as something that prepares you for life, but as a part of life itself. Though this may seem obvious, many people don’t really think in this way.
I’ve noticed this trend where people view education as a medium that you use or a stage that you simply need to surpass to get a job. I have seen numerous people who “hate their major” and are only studying to “get a great job and be rich”, which never fails to leave me appalled. They forget that this stage of their lives is not just a step towards the future, but a meaningful and significant part of life itself.Â
I personally had to rewire my brain in how I thought and approached my education. Education is not just a constant cycle of memorizing facts, but also acquiring and building skills. For example, when I’m reading a difficult text, sure, I do want to understand what the chapter is about. But that does not mean that I should simply ask ChatGPT to summarize the text to me in a simpler way to understand the content. Sure, I would be learning the content, which is useful. However, the purpose of education is not only to build knowledge of the material, but also to develop the skills necessary to be able to read and understand the hard text myself. Instead of viewing assignments merely as things I need to check off my to-do list, this perspective has encouraged me to approach my work with the goal of learning how to think, not just what to know.
There have been numerous times that people have asked me, “Oh, why are you taking that class? You don’t even have to take it. Why are you doing that to yourself? Just choose the easier one?” to which I either awkwardly chuckle or give a blank stare. For me, the point of taking any class is not just to get a step closer to finishing my degree, but to choose classes that actually interest and challenge me. College is such a rare opportunity because of all the resources and classes offered, where learning itself can be the priority. Rather than avoiding difficulty, I would much rather struggle through a challenging course and grow from experience than choose an easy class for the sake of convenience.
This does not mean that I completely disregard my grades or ignore my GPA. Grades still serve a purpose, but people often forget what they really represent. I see grades as a numerical indicator of how well I understand the material and develop the skills taught in my classes. They help me evaluate where I stand in my learning, but they are not the ultimate goal. I’ve abandoned this practice of studying for the sole aim of achieving a certain grade. When learning becomes the primary goal, good grades simply follow as a reflection of my understanding rather than something pursued for its own sake. In this sense, grades become a reflection of my learning rather than the purpose of it, reinforcing the idea that education is not simply about performing well, but to learn how to think and grow.