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FirmlyRefuse 12 - 18 Apr 2012 - Main.ElviraKras
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| | I found this campaign (http://firmlyrefuse.tumblr.com) at Harvard to get students to think about why they are choosing to work for firms to be interesting, particularly given the themes of this course and our conversation today about grades.
Grades for me have served to stand-in for concerted thought as to what I'm actually doing here. I have convinced myself that if my grades are good enough, I'll have options because a strong transcript resonates across different realms of employment (this is essentially the point Ben made today about the fear of having paths foreclosed). No matter what it is actually decide I want to do with my practice, I consoled myself that having a strong strong transcript wouldn't be a detriment. Probably that's true, at least in bureaucratic employment fields where such factors matter, but focusing on grades has meant that I've spent little time thinking about my purpose in earning this license. This makes it more likely that I'll funnel into EIP, because it's easy and because I haven't really thought about what I would do instead. Grades aren't the only reason I haven't set about designing an alternative, but they are a part of it. | | | -- SkylarPolansky - 17 Apr 2012 | |
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> | Skylar, your comments about the kind of household you grew up in absolutely resonated with me. Coming from a Jewish household of immigrant parents the message always was: “education is the key to all success” coupled with “these are the sacrifices that have been made so you can take advantage of the opportunities that we did not have.” In no way do I want to defame or blame my parents. I have no doubt that my parents always had the best intentions in pushing me to do my best but I think part of what happens, at least for me, it that is has ceased to be about just “keeping doors open” and more about equating value, self worth, success, and accomplishment with grades. If for your whole life you get a pat on the back or a congratulations when you get an A and if you get a disappointed lecture when a minus pops up by that A, or worse yet, drops to a B, I am no psychologist but I think that starts an associative pattern.
The other dilemma I have found myself facing is how to know when you are doing your best and getting a certain grade perhaps versus when you are doing average work and getting average grades. Often enough the correlation is correct, when I do really good work I get a grade that is considered really good. I think I am learning that it is time to shift the focus from extrinsic motivation and validation to a more “feelings” approach- doing what feels good, what you enjoy doing and relying on your own intuition of when you are doing your best work. I think it is not so much the value that firms or future employers place on our grades that makes us cling to the very rod that oppresses us, but rather, it is the fact that for so long we have defined ourselves by those very grades. Now that I listen to what everyone else has said in class, more and more I think that the law firm is not the opportunity that my parents were talking about I can do better for myself than that- when Eben says it “is not worth what they will make you spend in blood and honor,” I am starting to believe it.
-- ElviraKras - 18 Apr 2012 | | |
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