My dad came home from a semester of college with a report card that contained 4-F’s and 1-D. When his sister asked my granddad if he was surprised about my dad’s grades, his response was, “You mean about the D?”
Report cards have never been a joyous occasion for me either. It was always the same ole thing. I always had pretty good grades and horrible conduct. All A’s and N’s or A’s, B’s, and a combination of N’s and U’s.
It wasn’t my grades, it was my behavior. I didn’t know how to act. It would be easy for my parents just to blow this off because conduct marks don’t keep you out of college or show up on a resume. The problem, however, is that as I got older, the conduct had consequences which manifested itself into other areas, including grades.
It has been my experience that the difference in an A student versus a C student is often not in his ability to learn but his desire to listen to what is being taught, but the difference in an E student and a U student is their ability to act respectfully and with decency.
I didn’t think that conduct mattered. I thought I knew it all. As a young, cocky, semi-educated adult, I figured that decent grades were all that I needed on paper. It turns out I was wrong (Imagine that.).
As I have spent some time in the real world and mapping my way through some different areas of business, I have found that conduct is what I believe to be the most important attribute to being successful. I would rather work with a C student with ambition and decency than an A+ student who doesn’t know how to conduct himself.
The older I get the more conduct marks I find myself giving out and the fewer report cards I take home.
If I’m not grading myself on a regular basis, chances are I am failing. If I find myself placing priority on grading others, chances are I have already flunked.
I caught myself giving out conduct marks this morning in a class for which I am not the teacher. Turns out, it was me who was failing.
Peace, Love, and all things Beef related,
Beefcake