The Day After...

As Thanksgiving and Black Friday have come and gone, I can't help but have mixed emotions on them.  Yes, they were both memorable events and part of the holiday spirit, but the anticipation for I had before they started came and left before it ever felt like they started.  In the large spectrum of food, celebration, and time spent saving money on deals, that may not seem like a big deal since those are the things that count.  But I think it matters since people put so much money into getting ready for Thanksgiving by making food, or saving up for that one key purchase, but then like that, it's over.  The food you spent hours on is gone in less than an hour, and that thing you wanted to purchase is something you often use sparingly, or don't think enough about to appreciate.  I may be thinking too much about this subject, but I can't help it.  Thanksgiving is over.  And now that it has come and gone, I can't help but feel sad about the reality now everyone will be back at school or at work, instead of doing things that make them happy.  Yet, I suppose that's how life is...

Grade Alienation

A few days ago, a friend and I were having an interesting conversation at school about grades.  I had just got through ranting for the millionth time about how angry I was failing my online Spanish quiz because so many things about it were unjust.  The directions weren't clear, the questions had multiple answers, and the stipulations were ridiculous (30 questions in 50 minutes).  My friend understood what I was going through, which I found helpful, but he made me look at things from a much different perspective by relating everything to Karl Marx. 

I know what you're thinking.  Karl Marx, what the hell?!  I had the same thoughts as well because the only thing I knew about Karl Marx was that he wrote "The Communist Manifesto", and opposed any system that alienated or tried to govern people unjustly (at least I think that's what he said to some degree, but someone can correct me on that).  That had to do with government and sounded like it had nothing to do with school, but then my friend related it to how school grading systems go against what Marx believed because they alienate people and stress them to the point where they do not help them.  Also, people may get good grades in class, but they do not retain the information; they just learn it to pass and that's that.  It's sad, but it is true to some degree.

Now, I'm not saying college is this overbearing institutional system.  It's institutional and has its faults (which I've gone over before), but I think for the most part, they want to help the people that go there.  I just wish there was a better way to grade and test people on what they know because the old system, while effective, is outdated and certainly has flaws.  I wonder if there are any better solutions on the horizon, or will school be like this for years to come in the future?  I guess we won't know for awhile.  And while this may not make sense for many of you, including myself, it was nice to feel a little enlightened after failing a quiz, even if it was because of Karl Marx.