"Grade Inflation: It's Time to Face the Facts"

“Grade Inflation: It’s Time to Face the Facts,” by Harvey Mansfield of Harvard University, is a well written argument that has many strong points. Mansfield includes language that appeals to everyday people which attracts a wide variety of audience members. Mansfield makes a clear stance on his argument by stating, “The grades that faculty members now give—not only at Harvard but at many other elite universities—deserve to be a scandal.” (59). He provides strong credibility by establishing his knowledge about grade inflation, and Harvey states, “I’ve been on the Harvard faculty since 1962…” (61). At one point of Mansfield’s article he makes an analogy between raising standards on student’s education and cars. “Cars are better-made now then they used to be. So when buying a car, would you be satisfied with one that was as good as they used to be?” (60). This is a good point Mansfield makes in his article because he tries to explain himself in terms many people would be familiar with. Once again, this appeals to common people. Lastly, Mansfield provides a background to the issue of grade inflation. He provides a history that supports his argument, and adds to his credibility. “…grade inflation got started, in the late 60’s and early 70’s, white professors, imbibing the spirit of affirmative action…” (61).

Overall, I thought Mansfield’s article was very strong. He provided many strong points throughout his article which gained the trust from his audience. Based on the information Mansfield provided, I would have to agree that grade inflation is a reoccurring issue throughout history. Students should be challenged academically, and they need to earn their grades based on performance. I find it to be slightly unfair that more prestigious schools have an easier academia. When employers view transcripts and resumes, they notice what University you came from. Chances are, employers will pick the candidate with a Harvard background, in oppose to a San Jose State University background. Even though the student from State worked harder, the Harvard student is the one who gets employed based on the name printed on their diploma. Grade inflation needs to stop, and student’s education should not be based on a trend-like tendency.

Can violence be healthy?

I agree with Gerard Jones because violence in the media can be beneficial in ways most parents might not notice. Bloody video games and horror films can be an outlet for young children to explore their natural feelings that are usually suppressed. The need to act violently is a natural feeling in every human being. Suppressing those feelings, especially among children, can be damaging later in life. Children are given the outlet of playing violent video games or reenacting a scene from their favorite action movie so they can learn how to keep those emotions under control. By depriving children the opportunity to control these certain emotions, they will not understand how to regulate them for future development. Emotions of any kind that are being suppressed are unhealthy. By allowing children to view some violence, parents can take the opportunity to teach their children violence can be wrong. Parents should not use violent media as an excuse for their child’s behavior, but as an opportunity to teach their child how to express those emotions in a non-negative way.
Gerard Jones has constructed a well written essay which includes his personal experiences to strengthen his credibility towards his argument. Although Jones argument is well written, he lacks evidence to support his claim that violent media is good for kids. In the beginning of the essay, Jones uses his personal experience as a child to help take the audience back to their own childhood. After reading throughout his essay, it is clear that Jones’ audience is middle class parents. He uses simple language that the average adult can easily comprehend, and discusses childhood action figures that were popular for many of today’s parents. I appreciated how he mentioned the other side of his argument towards the end of his essay. This helped create an inspirational tone for the essay, and may sway his audience towards his side of the argument. Overall, Jones’ argument was very well organized, but it weak from his lack of supporting evidence.