Gaming the system
Higher education serves as a gatekeeper to prosperity, and in so doing, reflects and amplifies all the flaws of the larger social, political, and economic systems that support it.
Tracking the various attacks on democracy, the growth of open nationalism, anti-Semitism, and white supremacy, the threats to LGTBQ+ folk, and the resistance to the truths and urgency of climate change; all this raises important issues for those of us who teach in our country’s higher education institutions. I’ve been privileged to make a living in higher education for most of the last three decades, and I speak from my own experience and perspective.
To boil it down to one core question: why are so many people who are part of, leading, or protecting the leaders of these destructive efforts proud alumni of some of our most “prestigious” universities?
Americans hold a strong faith in education as a solution to many social ills, and as a keystone in upward economic mobility. And yet, too often, our educational systems reinforce the hierarchies, biases, and power structures that prevent true inclusion, equity, and justice.
This becomes glaringly obvious in the end-of-term grading rituals. Most grading practices are deeply flawed, open to failures from outright cheating to subjectivity to unconscious bias. Even when they are implemented in an approximation of fairness, they primarily reward compliance: following instructions and meeting deadlines. The ability to follow instructions and honor deadlines is important. But it is given outsized emphasis, compared to reflecting true learning and growth.
And worse: the outcome of these practices is not a recognition of learning so much as it is a sorting mechanism, a way of endorsing who is at the “top” of a class. Even when we avoid grading on a curve, which is now thankfully a rare model, we still sort students based on grade point averages. These flawed, biased, and reductionistic grading schemes stand between students and the earning of a credential.
It’s a system that is almost designed to reward gaming it. My colleagues and I are often flooded at the end of a term by questions from students along the lines of: what can I do to bring my grade up? It’s rare to hear a student ask: what can I do to learn more about this subject? We tend to blame our students for this focus on scores and points, but it’s mostly our fault. Or rather, it’s the fault of a system that serves as a gatekeeper to prosperity, and in so doing, reflects and amplifies all the flaws of the larger social, political, and economic systems that support it.
And so, playing the game pushes people to the top, into the prestigious institutions, and out into the world. To be sure, there are millions of learners in every college and university who are passionate about their subjects, devoted to learning above all, and they are supported by thousands of teachers. We absolutely celebrate them all.
But if we fail to pay attention to how our institutions fail the others, the ones who go on to support and defend white supremacy, anti-Semitism, attacks on the constitution and democracy, and more, then we can hardly be surprised when these evils thrive.
Education must be part of the revolution of inclusion, compassion, and social justice, or it will join the ranks of failed institutions.
Thank you for your company in exploring these critical questions.