Nerd-dom: What about the grades?

[Manda Robertson]

I just received my report card, and I believe solidified my status as a nerd with a ridiculous GPA that I will not post. Then I began wondering, are grades really an indication of whether or not you are a nerd? Is it more important to take hard classes or get better grades? How do we define nerd?

So here it is: Please post letting us know your opinion, do you consider your grades 'nerdfighterly' or do they matter at all? Answer some of the above questions or just post your opinion, GO!

(Please, nobody get offended about the whole grade thing, I think we all know for sure the one thing grades are NOT is a measure of self worth)

[Heidi]

I got a couple of B's, because I am lazy.
Does this make me less of a nerd.

[Lily]

no. i think it might even make you more of a nerd, depending on the situation. if you were involved in nerdy activities instead of doing, say, your homework, then absolutely you are a nerd.

[Heidi]

If reading Harry Potter or studying harder for my favourite subjects is nerdy then i'm a nerd!

[Stalking Sanity]

Honestly, I believe the entire system of grading to be a bit archaic and maybe even a little arbitrary. Because everyone learns differently, and although this should be common knowledge, many teachers are unable to grasp this concept. While many students test well, there are still shocking numbers of students who would not be failing if it were not for their poor test taking abilities or what some call "test anxiety". Note the quotation marks. What "test anxiety" should be called is "anxiety due to ridiculous amounts of pressure put on a single assignment that will determine whether or not your GPA will be ruined, your parents proud of you, etcetera, etcetera". But it's a bit long, so we'll stick with "test anxiety".
On top of that, everyone thinks differently. Thus everyone writes differently. I always excelled in writing. And then I was subjected to what may very well be the worst thing you could ever put an aspiring writer through: the Jane Schaffer format. I shudder at the very thought of it. In case you lucky souls haven't heard of it, the Jane Shaffer -shudder- format is a ridiculously complicated essay format that makes any kind of creativity or originality virtually impossible. It also makes no sense to someone who is more creatively-inclined or right-brained, such as myself. It is also probably the easiest format to grade, as it is so strict.
Whenever I had a teacher that enforced this format, I received horrible grades on essays. When I was given free reign over my own writing, I often received full marks and very positive comments.

If this didn't make sense [it did to me, sorry], I'll sum it up. I see the grading system as an evaluation of not how intelligent or hard-working a student is, but rather an evaluation of how easily they can follow directions given by a teacher and adapt to different styles of learning than they are used to, or that they got lucky and the teacher instructed them in a way that made sense to them.
I've had a lot of trouble with a lot of teachers because I don't generally fall into the majority when it comes to how I learn and think, so forgive me if I sound a bit vindictive.

[Naima]

I had alright grades in HS, I never failed anything and I was smart, but just hated most of my classes, so I was just kind of an average student. In Univeristy, I'm doing much better than I did in HS, I make really good grades and I attribute that to the fact that I'm taking classes that I'm interested in rather than just classes I MUST take. Also, I'm a good test taker....when its about actually skills, not like the SAT which I did well on as well, but not as well as people who took Prep Courses. Anyway, what I'm trying to say here is that I think I get to actually use my smarts/nerdiness in College more than I did in HS, so I don't think grades matter in HS, but more in College.

[Naima]

BTW, the people I know who took Prep courses got like 2200+ on their SATS, which sort of irked me because they basically paid to get a good score on the SATs.

[Cameron]

Many times grades dont reflect intrest in the subject. I dont get amazing grades but Im deffinately a nerd.I normally get A's in English,Ethics,Worldview and Language but those are some of my passions. I take all honors and I failed(67%) my second semester of Algebra and got a C- in Algebra 2 honors in my first semester and had to drop to normal to get a good grade not to mention many of my classes are on virtual school and I took well over the time limit and into the summer to finish them. I also barely pulled a B- in world history and barely a B in American history and I love history but I just wasnt learning anything in the course because I am such a history buff and I new much of the material. There are many kinds of nerds and just because the grades dont show passion for some courses it doesnt mean the person the person is not a nerd, I may just mean they have other passions besides what is taught in most schools(i.e. music,art,creative writting,web design ect.)

[Afua]

I like to think that your love for learning is more important than your actual grades

[Marley]

People assume nerds are smart, but I would say nerds aren't always smart they just try hard in school and like to learn..but then again that's not all nerd either but I think most..I'm happy to be proved wrong though :)

[Daphne (Fred)]

I'm a grade freak. I hate getting anything below an A.

[Blodwynn]

Overall grades, yes. I've always managed to keep overall unweighted average above a 90%.

Specifically....it depends. I always get at least two courses I get straight As in, almost always performance music, but I'm a music major so I have to take those. Core subjects (Math, History, Science, English): I've recieced a c in each ne except for Math. One for history because I missed a test due to a family death (i was later changed), 3 in Physics (and a failing midterm), and 1 in English.

But my class rank is #7 and my average is 93, so....^.^

Class Load next Year: AP Calculus
AP English Literature and Composition
Dual Credit American National Government
Economics
Music Theory
Senior Choir
Phys Ed.