<p>Interesteddad,</p>
<p>I started my prior post with the statement that I did not want to debate the merits of grades, and I reiterate it, but feel compelled, nonetheless, to re-address some points, hopefully for the last time. </p>
<p>I enjoy reading your posts about Swarthmore, a school you obviously love. I am grateful for all that you have shared about Swarthmore, but I was disappointed with your characterization of Brown and criticism of its curriculum. Like Swarthmore, Brown is a wonderful institution where students can immerse themselves in their interests under the guidance of amazing faculty members and in the company of tremendously smart and talented classmates. </p>
<p>I have no idea what basis you have to state that Brown students are slackers and I take exception to your statement that I somehow pointed out that “the big losers are the excellent students at Brown who work diligently at a high level and have no way to distinguish themselves from slackers coasting their way to the same result…” Nothing could be farther from my feelings about Brown students.</p>
<p>Brown is very careful and deliberate in its admission decisions. It is also highly selective as you well probably know. A “typical” Brown student, if there is such a thing, is highly accomplished in many areas and has graduated at the top of the class at his/her high school. These are students not too different from Swarthmore students and the two schools share a great number of applicants and admitted students. My son received a wonderful education, both in and out of the classroom, and made some very deep friendships with amazing classmates with a wide range of interests. None were slackers and they were very much TYPICAL of the rest of the student body. Any student fortunate enough to have the privilege of spending four years in the Brown environment is a winner, not a loser.</p>
<p>You are a firm believer in Swarthmore’s curriculum. It is a fine curriculum, but it is not the only path to a great education. Referring to students, who attend an equally fine institution, as slackers, because their school has a different curriculum and philosophy is not very “Swarthmorean.” Brown’s curriculum and grade policy is rooted in the belief that when you remove grades and rigid prerequisites, students will pursue areas of study that they may not otherwise entertain and will bring a level of interest to a class that may be otherwise missing if he or she is there just to meet a core requirement. Some agree with this philosophy, others do not. I happen to believe in it, but recognize that there are other equally successful curricula.</p>
<p>You seem to have interchanged grading policies with grading rigor, but they are not one and the same. It is entirely possible to have a large number of A’s in a rigorous class if the level of interest in the subject matter is there. One of the things my son appreciated about his classes was that students were enrolled in them because they wanted to take the course, not because they “had” to take the course. Brown has a two-week shopping period that pretty much ensures that students stay in classes in which they really want to be. It is axiomatic that there is a vast difference in level of student interest and achievement when a student is in a class because he/she chooses to be in it.</p>
<p>You have taken issue with some random data about 1 in 5 students graduating from Brown without taking two math or science courses. Implicit in your statement seems to be the belief that these students may be graduating without basic math and science. I will note, however, that many students enter Brown having already mastered high level math and science courses. My son is part of the statistics that you have quoted. He took no math or science at Brown. He already had taken, with great success, Organic Chemistry and some pretty advanced Physics and Math courses as part of a very rigorous math/science IB curriculum (not the watered down IB version that has recently sprung around the country). His level of achievement in those areas, coupled with artistic talent, was in no doubt instrumental in getting him admitted to Brown. He took no math or science at Brown because he would have had to register for very advanced courses in disciplines that he had no interest pursuing further. Just because he did not take two more math/science courses did not make him any less educated or knowledgeable than someone taking two required basic courses in those disciplines at some other school.</p>
<p>Frankly, I do not understand why math and science are touted with such veneration, yet no outrage is expressed when many of our finer institutions of higher learning fail to deliver quality offerings and outstanding faculty in the arts. How many students graduate every year without ever having taken really great courses in drama, dance, music, visual arts, taught by amazing artists? But, I am digressing into one of my pet peeves with our system of education…</p>
<p>I do not want to belabor the point about grades at Brown, but if you look closely at Brown’s policy, you will see that letter grades are the default. Students have to opt for Credit/No Credit without a grade, or for extended explanation of their achievements, within two weeks of enrolling in class. In some disciplines, no letter grades are offered at all, mostly in the arts, because of a basic, and very sound belief, that artistic expression cannot really be graded. By the way, many of the best graduate programs in the arts follow a similar approach. Columbia’s MFA in creative writing, one the two premier programs in the nation, has absolutely no letter grading. </p>
<p>The bottom line is that motivated students do not need grades to pursue their intellectual or artistic endeavors. The majority of Brown students, like the majority of Swatties, are highly motivated and idealistic with perfectionist tendencies, if not obsessions. I bet you, that if we were to survey both schools, we would find a large number of perfectionists at both schools. (Tying the post to the thread somewhat…!) </p>
<p>I hope that being the thoughtful poster that you are, that you will reconsider your generalized statements about Brown students, if not, let us just agree to disagree.</p>