LettertoaBstudentYourfinalgradeforthecourseisB.Arespectablegrade.Farsuperiortothe"Gentleman'sC"thatservedasthenormacoupleofgenerationsago.ButinthosedaysA'swererare:onlytwooutoftwenty-five,asIrecall.Whateverournormis,ithasshiftedupward,withtheresultthatyouareprobablydisappointedatnotdoingbetter.I'mcertainthatnothingIcansaywillremovethatfeelingofdisappointment,particularlyinaclimatewheregradesdetermineeligibilityforgraduateschoolandspecialprograms.Disappointment.It'sthestuffbaddreamsaremadeof:dreamsoffailure,inadequacy,lossofpositionandgoodrepute.Theessenceofsuccessisthatthere'sneverenoughofittogoroundinazero-sumgamewhereoneperson'swinningmustbeoffsetbyanother'slosing,oneperson'sjoyoffsetbyanother'sdisappointment.You'vegrownupinasocietywherewinningisnotthemostimportantthing—it'stheonlything.Tolose,tofail,togounder,togobroke—thesearedeadlysinsinaworldwhereprosperityinthepresentisseenasasuresignofsalvationinthefuture.Inadifferentsociety,yourdisappointmentmightbesomethingyoucouldshrugaway.Butnotinours.Mypurposeinwritingyouistoputyourdisappointmentinperspectivebyconsideringexactlywhatyourgrademeansanddoesn'tmean.Idonotproposetoargueherethatgradesareunimportant.Rather,Ihopetoshowyouthatyourgrade,takenatfacevalue,isapttobedangerouslymisleading,bothtoyouandtoothers.Asasymbolonyourcollegetranscript,yourgradesimplymeansthatyouhavesuccessfullycompletedaspecificcourseofstudy,doingsoatacertainlevelofproficiency.Thelevelofyourproficiencyhasbeendeterminedbyyourperformanceofratherconventionaltasks:takingtests,writingpapersandreports,andsoforth.Yourperformanceisgenerallyassumedtocorrespondtotheknowledgeyouhaveacquiredandwillretain.Butthisassumption,aswebothknow,isquestionable;itmaywellbethatyou'veactuallygottenmuchmoreoutofthecoursethanyourgradeindicates—orless.Lackingmoreprecisemeasurementtools,wemustinterpretyourBasaratherfuzzysymbolatbest,representingaquestionablejudgmentofyourmasteryofthesubject.Yourgradedoesnotrepresentajudgmentofyourbasicabilityorofyourcharacter.Courage,kindness,wisdom,goodhumor—thesearetheimportantcharacteristicsofourspecies.Unfortunatelytheyarenotpartofourcurriculum.Buttheyareimportant:cruciallyso,becausetheyarealwaysinshortsupply.Ifyouvaluethesecharacteristicsinyourself,youwillbevalued—andfarmoresothanthosewhoseidentitiesaremeasuredonlybylittlemarksonapieceofpaper.YourBisapricetagonagarmentthatisquiteseparatefromtheliving,breathinghumanbeingunderneath.Thestudentasperformer;thestudentashumanbeing.Thedistinctionisoneweshouldalwayskeepinmind.IfirstlearnedityearsagowhenIgotoutoftheserviceandwentbacktocollege.Therewerealotofusthen:olderthanthenorm,inahurrytogetourdegreesandmoveon,impatientwiththetestsandritualsofacademiclife.Notaneasygrouptohandle.Oneinstructorhandledusverywisely,itseemstome.OnSundayeveningsinparticular,hewouldmakeapointofstoppinginatalocalbarfrequentedbymanyoftheGI-Billstudents.Therehewouldsitanddrink,joke,andswapstorieswithmeninhisclass,menwhohadbutrecentlyputawaytheiruniformsandidentities:formerplatoonsergeants,bomberpilots,corporals,captains,lieutenants,commanders,majors—evenalieutenantcolonel,asIrecall.Theyenjoyedhiscompanygreatly,ashetheirs.Thenextmorninghewouldwalkintoclassandgivethesesamemenatest.Ahardtest.Atestonwhichheusuallyflunkedabouthalfofthem.Oddlyenough,themenwhomheflunkeddidnotresentit.Nordidtheyresenthimforshiftingsuddenlyfrom...
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