Abolish grades

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For many college students, time and energy is devoted to earning high grades. Grades, among other factors, are the key to success for graduate school and ultimately leading into the workforce. However, grades are reductive — they do not paint a full picture of a person.

Grades are used to calculate a student’s value. However, people amount to more than their college GPA.

A grade does not capture a person’s full potential but serves to limit their perceived ability. Grades are used to measure one’s worth by universities, by peers and by the students themselves — honors like the Dean’s List reward students with high GPAs.

Over-emphasizing the importance of grades can wreck a student’s mental, physical and spiritual health.

Students stay up late to get homework done. Poor grades cause sleepless nights filled with stress. Guilt and shame over unfulfilled expectations continue to gnaw at and fray one’s self-esteem, and students begin to drift away from God, idolizing academic achievements.

To nobody’s surprise, 75% of students despise school, according to a