Benefits of the C-minus.It was a pleasure to read "The Gentleman's A" (David N. Figlio and Maurice E. Lucas, Research, Spring 2004), in part because it accords with common sense. The teacher you remember from your youth is not the easy grader A grader, also commonly referred to as a blade or a motor grader, is an engineering vehicle with a large blade used to create a flat surface. Typical models have three axles, with the engine and cab situated above the rear axles at one end of the vehicle and a third who let you get away with a weak performance; it is the tough one who gave you a challenge and was not easy to please. I know that researchers usually prefer "counterintuitive coun·ter·in·tu·i·tive adj. Contrary to what intuition or common sense would indicate: "Scientists made clear what may at first seem counterintuitive, that the capacity to be pleasant toward a fellow creature is ... " results, but in matters like these it is often the case that science is better judged by common sense than common sense by science. It would be interesting to learn the authors' view of the importance of sustaining students' self-esteem. Is it better for less able students to receive high or low grades? Do high grades encourage them to do better than they otherwise would do, or do such students do worse because they live in a fool's paradise fool's paradise n. A state of delusive contentment or false hope. fool's paradise Noun a state of happiness based on false hopes or beliefs Noun 1. , ignorant of their true capacities? It would also be nice to know the characteristics of tough graders. Are their IQs higher or lower than those of easy graders? Are they more likely to be liberal or conservative? And what about sex, religion, and union affiliation? What do they think they are accomplishing with tough grades? A fine study is one that raises more questions than it answers. HARVEY C. MANSFIELD Harvard University Harvard University, mainly at Cambridge, Mass., including Harvard College, the oldest American college. Harvard College Harvard College, originally for men, was founded in 1636 with a grant from the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Cambridge, Massachusetts This article is about the city of Cambridge in Massachusetts. For the English university town, see Cambridge, England. For other places, see Cambridge (disambiguation). Cambridge, Massachusetts is a city in the Greater Boston area of Massachusetts, United States. |
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