One Class Down

Today marked a sad day in my so-far short but somehow very long career at the College of Europe. This afternoon I had my last negotiation skills class with Dr. Meerts. I know I raved about it before, but honestly, it definitely ranked in the top five favorite classes of my entire academic career. And that is saying something. To make the class even more fantastic, Dr. Meerts told us not to study for the final. It will all be "common sense" according to him. Wow. I will probably end up studying anyway, but I definitely feel a little bit better. Now there are just those other pesky five courses to worry about. Shoot, I wish my European Legal Aspects professor would say "don't worry about the final." Better yet, I wish exams were voluntary. Why do we need grades anyway? I know this is a question I have posed several times to my family, but it is a valid point. If you want to learn, you will do the work whether or not someone assigns you an arbitrary number/letter for your efforts. In fact, there is a school in Washington that advertises its "no grades policy" and I must admit that it is quite attractive. (Ok, so I probably wouldn't fit in with all of the hippies, but I bet I could manage if it meant no more grades). I learn just as much from thorough debate, discussion, lecture, and research than from cramming for a three hour exam that may determine my entire future. I do wonder why grading persists in the academic world, especially at the post-graduate level. Why don't we just have someone checking up on us every once in awhile making sure we are getting along alright with the assigned work? I mean, at this point, aren't we supposed to be studying things we REALLY want to study? And aren't we basically professional students? So what is the point of asking me three essay questions on an exam and then making assumptions about my total knowledge of an entire subject based upon that? It really is not very logical if you think about it. And the fact that institutions of higher learning have persisted in this practice for hundreds of years only demonstrates a clear lack of creativity and innovation. The only thing an exam does is convince me that I never want to read, see, or hear anything about the subject for the rest of my life. They succeed at beating all motivation and drive to learn straight out of me. So instead of enjoying learning about the European Union in a relaxed and stimulating environment that inspires me to learn more, I am hit with that familiar dread that creeps up on me every fall. That feeling in the pit of your stomach warning you that failure is always a possibility; no matter who you are; no matter how hard you work. And so that familiar dread has begun to settle over me once again as October comes to a close. Halloween may be approaching, but the only thing I am frightened of is my own ability to answer exam questions about every aspect of the European Union I never knew existed. Wish me luck and perhaps write your congressmen and ministers of education proposing the eradication of grades from schools in an attempt to end anxiety disorders and increase student life-expectancy.