I read a headline yesterday that really caught my attention. The headline read: "Prof lets students choose own grades for 'stress reduction.'" I thought to myself, remembering back to those days of sweating out final exams so my grades would improve, "Wow, why didn't they have something like that then?" Let me share just a couple portions of this article:
"A University of Georgia professor has adopted a 'stress reduction policy' that will allow students to select their own grades if they 'feel unduly stressed' by the ones they earned." Well, let's just stop right here. I work hard in a class - or, at least I think I work hard - and I get a B when I think I should have gotten an A. I admit that the B does cause the "stress factor" to increase. Okay, let me share a personal experience with that fact. I remember being a junior in high school and taking a physics class. The teacher was a tough teacher. He had actually done all the experiments that he assigned in class and had all his answers in a little black book hidden away. Mr. C had to sign off on your experiment before you could move on to the next one, and, just to add stress, your result had to match his result. If it didn't, well...it was back to the drawing board. I remember working hard that first semester. I knew I was right on the border between an A and a B. I missed an A by .40 of a point. I went into Mr. C and pleaded my case. I can still remember that intimidating smile as he said, "Mr. Frazier, I gave you exactly what you earned." Wow! Where was this University of Georgia professor and his policy when I needed it back in 1963. [To complete the story: I worked even harder the second semester and got a solid A, but that B kept me from being first in my class].
Let's continue with the article: "According to online course syllabi for two of Dr. Richard Watson's fall business courses, he has introduced the policy because 'emotional reactions to stressful situations can have profound consequences for all involved.' As such, if students feel 'unduly stressed by a grade for any assessable material or the overall course,' they can 'email the instructor indicating what grade [they] think is appropriate, and it will be changed' with 'no explanation' being required. 'If in a group meeting, you feel stressed by your group's dynamics, you should leave the meeting immediately and need offer no explanation to the group members,' the policy adds, saying such students can 'discontinue all further group work' with their remaining grade being 'based totally on non-group work.' Finally, for in-class presentations, Watson will allow 'only positive comments' to be made, while 'comments designed to improve future presentations will be communicated by email.'"
The article, which was written by Anthony Gockowski and published at www.campusreform.org/?ID=9551, concludes: "Watson, notably, does concede that 'while this policy might hinder the development of group skills and mastery of the class material,' those outcomes are ultimately a student's 'responsibility,' though he promises to 'provide every opportunity for [students] to gain high level mastery.'"
What is wrong with this professor's thinking? His desire is to remove stress from his student's life. And he understands that grades create stress; therefore, let the student determine which grade to be received that causes the least amount of stress. Now, what I found interesting is that this professor teaches business courses. My father was a businessman. In my ministry, I have met hundreds of business people. They all shared with me that stress is just part of business. You had the stress of deadlines. You had the stress of meeting sales quotas. You had the stress of market fluctuations. You had the stress of balancing business with home. It seems to me that what this professor should be teaching his business students is how to manage stress successfully, not the removal of stress.
Friends, as you have found, life is full of stress. I was asked to teach a class at a Community College titled, "Stress Management." I shared with my students that there are values that come along with stress. Stress can be a useful tool to enable us to grow stronger as we endeavor to accomplish our goals. Then I shared with those students that I found that taking all my stress loads to Jesus and letting Him carry the burden really helped. In essence, I let Jesus become my "stress manager." Friends, allow Jesus to manage your stress. When you do, you will find that stress becomes not an obstacle but a tool to advance you to where God desires you to be.
One of my friends here at the church that I serve as Lead Pastor and who follows my blog carefully, came up after a service and urged me to invite my blog-readers to strongly consider running for local school boards and other local community offices. If ever there was a time when Christians needed to get into the arena, it is right now. Local school boards still have some measure of control over what is taught within their schools. Wouldn't it be great if every school board had a majority of followers of Jesus Christ as members? The same could be said of local city councils. I had the privilege of serving on a local school board for four years. Yes, it took time. But I was able to contribute to discussions about curriculum, about policy and procedures, and about relationships between faculty and parents. There are still a few days left to get your nomination papers filed with the school.
Before closing let me just challenge you to keep praying for our President and those in positions where important decisions are made. The situation with North Korea continues to escalate. We are learning what happens when a rogue state possesses nuclear capability. North Korea might think twice before launching a nuclear warhead, but ISIS might not. I would not be surprised that ISIS has not already contacted North Korea about the availability of a mini-warhead and its price. Our leaders need the wisdom of Solomon in these days.
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