Which would be most crucial? perhaps the student's grade, or the student's mental state?

You might get the shivers, quiver your fingers, and slur your words with the simple mention of the
phrase. They have always been, and most likely always will be, the single indicator of a child's success
and one of the few things that parents worry about. They are placed on a pedestal that is sometimes
even higher than wellbeing, placing them almost as high as health and survival. Some claim that they will
influence your future. Do you think they'll do it or not? Do good grades ensure a successful future? Or do
they cause more harm than good?

What benefit does attending school provide? In order to study, of course. The mapping of our learning is
also aided by grades. In order to help us learn, they give us an idea of how good we are compared to
how good we should be, as well as how much we need to progress. Yet, society has changed. Only the
top students gain from the rising standard for "how good we should be," leaving the "laggards" in their
trail. Instead of focusing on how well you start out or how intelligent you are, learning should be judged
on how much you are willing to attempt, how much time you spend, and how well you develop. It is
untrue that a child cannot learn simply because they are average in relation to other students.

The absence of grades jeopardizes our capacity for self-motivation because grades are meant to
help us better prepare for the future. But in real life, you won't always have someone telling you
when to try and when to give up, and you won't always get praised for your accomplishments
and shamed for your failures. Long-term consequences could result from this, especially at work,
where every action counts.

Is using a grading system necessary? Do we really want to subject our students to an

authoritarian, arbitrary, and biased system that not only fails to achieve its own goals but actually
goes against them? After all, learning is a process that can never be measured in terms of
numbers, letters, or percentages and can never be thought of as a goal.