The following post pertains to the New Curriculum at Brown University in particular, but what I'm saying applies to students everywhere.
After a semester at Brown, I'm not yet sure what my opinion is of the New Curriculum, a system that revolves around not having "distribution requirements" and being able to take classes "S/NC" or Satisfactory/No Credit. In this sense, Brown encourages students to venture into unfamiliar academic territory; we have the ability to take a class without the stress that comes with taking a traditionally graded course. In terms of "actual" grades, Brown only issues A's, B's and C's, eschewing pluses and minuses, and any grade below a C goes unseen on the official academic transcript.
Yet with only four months of Brown under my belt, I can see how the New Curriculum, the one that intends to promote academic exploration and a broad course of study, can be manipulated in such a way that defeats its purpose.
I've heard friends regret not opting to take a course S/NC when they received a B in the class. I overheard one girl in the library during finals week talk about dropping a course last minute that she had a "70 percent chance" of getting a C in. Her friend encouraged her to purposely bomb the exam, which would similarly allow the girl to avoid seeing the dreaded C blemish her transcript.
In the New Curriculum's attempt to remove the stress and pressure that accompanies grades, we thus have an unreasonable system that encourages perfectionism: A's are the only "acceptable" grade, B's should have been S's, and C's are considered worse than failing the course.
Like most Brown students, I believe in the New Curriculum. What I don't believe in is this academic environment that followed forty years later. I'm not sure if a re-evaluation of the New Curriculum is in order, or if what we really need is to take a closer look at ourselves. (The ones who think a getting a C is worse than failing.) The New Curriculum intends for us to go beyond what we think our academic limits are while exploring areas for which we already have a passion. At least that is what I've gathered. Or maybe I digested too much of the rhetoric in the admissions packets, campus tours and orientation.
Still, I feel that we should see the value in struggling in a class to a reasonable extent. I know for myself, classes that kicked my butt are the ones that have taught me the most and intellectually pushed me the furthest. If we don't embrace the struggle, how else can we surprise ourselves?
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