The Hard is What Makes it Great

One of my favorite quotes is from the film A League of Their Own. Tom Hanks plays Jimmy Dugan, the reluctant coach of a women's baseball team called The Rockford Peaches. Geena Davis plays Dottie Hensen, one of the best players in the league. But when her little sister Kit, played by Lori Petty, accuses her of stealing the spotlight and essentially ruining her life, Dottie decides to quit the team. When Jimmy calls her on it, she says, "It just got too hard." Jimmy retorts, "It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't, everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great." Amen, brother!

The Montreal Gazette has published two articles within the past couple of days about students in university. The first one was about students still living at home in the suburbs and having to commute hours to and from school. This time spent traveling could be better spent studying or sleeping! Worse, students who live far from campus aren't participating as much in extracurricular activities! Alas, it's too expensive for them to move downtown closer to the action. Obviously I'm being sarcastic here. I lived in the West Island while working toward my undergrad at McGill. I spent the better part of 3 or more hours on buses, subways or trains getting to and from school. I wanted to keep my expenditures at a minimum. So to me, living in the suburbs and commuting was part of the deal. I think if you want to attend university, you should be willing to put in the effort and not just academically.
In this same article, a director of residency said that those who live closer to or on campus have higher GPAs than those who don't. It could be because we suburbanites are missing out on some studying time but I highly doubt that those living near campus are spending that time studying either. There are far more temptations not to study downtown than there are in the boonies. I was a teaching assistant during my Masters degree and one of the big problems was cheating--oh sorry, academic misconduct (we're not allowed to call it cheating). It was discovered after one or two semesters that the quizzes were being passed around res. So maybe that explains higher GPAs?

The second article published today was about how university isn't what it used to be. It's too "tame".  Students are working more than 20 hours a week while studying thus lowering their GPAs. At the same time students demand better living spaces like "luxurious condos" and helicopter parents are an epidemic. It's bizarre that we lament the fact that university life isn't all about the booze and partying and that students are actually working their way through school. It's ironic that while this is going on, students are still being coddled by their parents but expecting to "play house" like adults. It's messed up. We have this dichotomy of fun living in university but at the same time the stress of wanting desperately to succeed. Suicide is also on the rise in universities. This explains why universities are offering more mental health aid to students.

Over the years I've interacted with many students in many different fields of academia. I've had students begging for an 'A' so they could get into a program. I've had students demand an 'A' because I obviously didn't read their exam correctly. I've had students insult my intelligence. I've had students insult my area of expertise, early Christianity, because they thought this would be an easy 'A' for them and when they realized it wouldn't be, it was my fault, not theirs.

University is hard. It's not something you do merely for the fun of it. Grades are not given to you -- you work for them. Academia is not for everyone. Unfortunately, we're in a time where it's expected that you attend university even though you might be better suited to mechanics or plumbing or whatever trade society will always need.

I'm tired of people complaining about something that is a privilege. I'm tired of hearing that students need lower tuition but more resources at their disposal. I'm tired of hearing that students want more despite giving less.

It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't, everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great.