My RA's just sent out a message saying they're proud of us if we earned high grades this past quarter, but if we didn't, then it's fine because the grades mean nothing anyway...

I don't particularly see the point in congratulating those of us that did well, only to belittle our achievements to console those that didn't. I know they're our RA's and they have to please everyone, but this is precisely what I find to be the problem in education, in my opinion. No, the grades aren't useless and yes, they reflect how much effort you have inputted. Too much consideration is given to those that don't do well, and those that do well are pretty much cast aside. Yes, those struggling should be helped, efforts must be made to improve their performance, but in no way should they be led to believe that it's fine and that what those over-achievers over there earned is worthless.

I feel stricter hand to enforce discipline is due here. I remember that a low mark earned me a reprimand from my teachers and my parents, and it usually wasn't a very low mark. As I went from one grade to the next, it seemed to matter less, and, yes, it was probably because they took into consideration the relative difficulty, but I found I could get away with an average score without worrying about the previous consequences I faced. I think that played a part in my low performance in math and sciences later in high school, I didn't have that pressure to do exceptionally well in *all* my subjects, so I didn't actively seek help to master the subject I didn't understand as much as I should have. That little reprimand and slight disappointment expressed because of that "low" grade pushed me to improve and seek to impress come the next test, assignment, etc.

I just had to rant when I read the message...I'll get back to my second play-through in Persona 4...