Adversity Builds Character

The Age of Coddling Is Over
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/16/opinion/coronavirus-medical-training.html

David Brooks:

“Over the past decades, a tide of “safetyism” has crept over American society. As Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt put it in their book “The Coddling of the American Mind,” this is the mentality that whatever doesn’t kill you makes you weaker. The goal is to eliminate any stress or hardship a child might encounter, so he or she won’t be wounded by it … It’s been a disaster. This overprotective impulse doesn’t shelter people from fear; it makes them unprepared to deal with the fear that inevitably comes. …

But there has been one sector of American society that has been relatively immune from this culture of overprotection — medical training. It starts on the undergraduate level. While most academic departments slather students with A’s, science departments insist on mastery of the materials. According to one study, the average English class G.P.A. is above 3.3 and the average chemistry class G.P.A. is 2.78.”. 

Related:
Purdue University President Mitch Daniels:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/for-college-admissions-lets-value-grit-over-gpas/2018/11/28/8aa1c9c4-ed09-11e8-8679-934a2b33be52_story.html

“The challenge for today’s college admissions officer is like the one faced by corporate recruiters: In an era of rampant grade inflation, which grades can you believe? Businesses began learning years ago not to put much stock in diplomas from schools where the average graduate’s GPA is 3.5 or higher and may not be at all indicative of real learning or readiness for the modern workplace...

Many problems brought to our counselors are of social origin — loneliness, cyberbullying, just plain homesickness — but many others stem from academic anxiety, and small wonder. Freshmen who rarely saw a B during their K-12 years can be severely jolted when handed back a paper marked C. Too many participation trophies when growing up is lousy preparation for life at a reasonably rigorous university, let alone in the real world beyond.”