Viswanathan K's Thoughts

Paul Graham writes of a common lament among adults long after they graduate: “In theory, tests are merely what their name implies: tests of what you've learned in the class. In theory you shouldn't have to prepare for a test in a class any more than you have to prepare for a blood test.” And: “In practice… things are so different that hearing this explanation of how classes and tests are meant to work is like hearing the etymology of a word whose meaning has changed completely.” No surprise then that this is how we go through school and college: “For me, as for most students, the measurement of what I was learning completely dominated actual learning in college.” But isn’t this just a cost of doing business, a way to get a job? No, says Graham: “The most damaging thing you learned in school wasn't something you learned in any specific class. It was learning to get good grades.” Huh? How can learning to get good grades be a damaging thing?! Lamentable a...

At school, my 5 year old gets tested on the spellings of 10 new words each week. The list of those 10 words is published upfront; and so parents have to make the kid practice and learn them during the course of the week. The first week, she got all of them right; an “Excellent!” and 2 stars from the teacher; and applause from the class (the applause was for all the kids who got all 10 words right). Boy, was she proud and happy! As we worked on the words for Week #2, by Day 5, I was irritated that she was always confused about the spelling of “parents” (is it “pa” or “pae”?). Upon which she snapped and we had this very amusing conversation: She : “So you want me to get all 1o right all the time, is it?” Me : “Yes, that is exactly what I want.” She : “Why? Even if I get 9 of them right, my teacher will still give me a star.” As Hobbes once told Calvin , she had me “wriggling in the crushing grip of reason”. Anyways, I stuck to my guns, and by the day of the test, it...