In an effort to make sure no one gets their feelings hurt, Prince George’s County schools in Maryland are considering raising the lowest possible grade students can earn to shield them from those cruel zeroes.
The county school board is considering raising grades so that the lowest grade a student could earn in the first three quarters would be 50 percent. Students can currently earn zero to 59 percent, which counts as a failing E grade.
Even more laughable is that teachers will give out a 50 percent grade “as long as the student shows effort,” NBC Washington explains.
It was bad enough that Prince George’s County elementary and middle schools already enforce this policy, but now school officials think teenagers can’t handle the pressure either.
Matt has written a lot about the coddling of college campus cupcakes. They need “safe spaces,” they have to hold conferences about “white privilege” and everything is now a trigger word or microaggression. Well, Maryland’s school system has given us a small indication as to why young adults are so sensitive nowadays.
Failure isn’t the end of the world. In fact, sometimes a failing grade is exactly what a young person needs to give them that extra motivation to work harder. If they are given grades they don’t deserve from 1st grade to senior year, how will they be able to deal with potential disappointments long after graduation?