Most of us start off our morning reading the news. Sadly, it is more often the Facebook News feed rather than Wall Street Journal. I'm not knocking Facebook. It has a valid social purpose and it's ability to allow me to stay connected to people is great. But it's the abuse of info that has us all bogged down. I know for each of you it's different, but we all have that topic (or topics) that we are so sick of seeing on status updates:
"Become my friend in Farmville"
"Jane Smith changed her relationship status to 'it's complicated'"
"Let me post a million youtube videos"
"I'm going to tell you how amazing you are, husband/boyfriend (etc) even though you're sitting right next to me"
Yes the list goes on and on. What I want to touch on is a lesser known offender: The Grade Grubber. Sorry if that's a harsh term but it has to be said. If you take the time to click to my profile and pull out your glasses, you can read the little lettering that tells you that not only did I pass my classes, I graduated with a Bachelor's Degree. I have worked a multitude of jobs and I'm currently working in my field of study. That's it, that's all it says. It doesn't tell you what lists I made, awards I won, honor societies I was in, etc. Maybe someday it will allow for that (maybe it already does) but I really could care less. It's a Facebook Profile, not my resume. This is not Linked In. Yes, there are plenty of businesses that search your Facebook when receiving your resume but that doesn't mean you should confuse the two. What I'm trying to say, bluntly, is the constant barraging of your grades (be it quiz, test, EOC, or final grade) all over my news feed has got to stop. It is all out madness.
I highly value education and of course I'm happy to hear my friends are doing well, but what they fail to realize is it's just a number/letter and it's a blip in the real world. I don't mean to sound jaded, but it's one of those things that everyone focuses on while forgetting the content they actually memorized to achieve that grade. First of all, constantly posting your grades makes people appear more arrogant than smart; maybe even a little egotistical. I do not use my FB status to let the world know every time I achieve a project at work. "Created a new CRM today and my boss gave me an A+ for it." First of all, you don't get grades at work and often you get little recognition at all. That doesn't mean what you do isn't important or valued. The focus should be on the work and not one person's evaluation on it. What I would love is if everyone would stop telling me they got a 98 or a B+ and instead taught something they learned in that corresponding class. We would all be a lot better off if we spent our time learning, not just reading a report card with our morning coffee....
Or better yet, just pick up the New York Times.
