The Day I Griped About Grades

By -

I woke up this morning recalling the dream I was having just before I awoken. Interestingly enough, it was about the only time I complained about grades here are the Asian Institute of Management.

To give you an idea, I'm not really conscious about my grades, so I rarely complained. Of course, I don't want to just get red marks left and right-- I definitely want to excel on things that I like to do and enjoy, but with things that aren't really catching my fancy, I tend to look at them like a chore and would just come up with mediocre results.

Going back to the only time I complained , it was during the start of this year. Prof. Nani Roxas, our Operations Management (OM) professor, just released an exemption list for the midterm exams and I was not in his list. I would have been fine with it until I saw the set of folks who were exempted. The list raised questions because there some a handful of exemptions that seemed to make little sense.

So a few days after the list, I went to Prof. Jun Borromeo, our CAN group's mentor, in his office. I griped about that I perceived as a highly questionable in OM.In true professor-like fashion, Prof. Borromeo asked me if I would be bothered with the list if I was exempted. I replied I probably wouldn't. He then asked if I should be in the list and I firmly said if my benchmarks were some of the people who got in, then I should been exempted as well. Prof, Borromeo then explained to me how subjective things are and maybe I had a distorted perception of how I performed in OM (or something to that effect). I left the office after that.

I then thought about things and I realized the folly of my move. I realized the futility of certain things and business school and I started to care about grades even lesser. But that was one of the most liberating thing that happened to me in school-- I started to pick my spots better and just ignore the things I can do little or nothing about, including professors' perception of me in class. It also gave me focus on things that I want to do and enjoy and just avoid failing on subjects I don't like.

In retrospect, did I adopt the right mindset? Let's just say my grades took a beating, but I enjoyed school more and it made me look forward to going to classes. :)

Comments

Anonymous said…
given your post on the matter, how is thecurrent quality of AIM as an MBA institution?

How are the teachers? I heared non of the old greats are left...

Is it better than it was before? Or has it been dominated by indians and their culture of "whatever it takes to get to the top" (i.e. Cheat, steal)?

I am honestly considering AIM as a Filipino as I had this notion that AIM was for Filipinos as DLSU UP ADMU created in the begining.

What has it become now?

Please enlighten me.

Thanks,

Archie
October 22, 2008 at 7:10 PM
Anonymous said…
During our time,(we were the last MBMs to graduate from AIM) we had great professors such as Gabby Mendoza, Mel Salazar, Jess Gallegos, Bobby Lim, and even the now famous Romy Neri.

But we also had pathetic ones such as Rogel Reyes and Ning Lagman who I personally think is a waste of time and money (considering that we spent 2 years and paid almost Php 2M) These professors are a disgrace to the teaching profession
October 28, 2008 at 2:00 PM
Unknown said…
Hello Archie,

Thanks for the comment. Every batch would like to believe that their time is the Golden Age, so I may be a bit biased when it comes to thoughts on the faculty and students. :P

The key thing here is having an open mind. After all, we can't have a boxed mentality in this day and age. :)
October 28, 2008 at 3:15 PM
Unknown said…
@Anonymous,

I guess this is the time where I argue that things are relative. :P

But seriously, you are right, that's a list of great names during your time. But that's how life goes-- eras pass and new ones spring up. I would like to believe that our era can live up to the AIM name. :)
October 28, 2008 at 3:19 PM
Anonymous said…
Grades at AIM are highly subjective, it does not reflect the student's true intellectual prowess. Rather, it accurately measures how well and how often he splatters his saliva all over the case room and how effective is his sucking up techniques. We even had professors then that are suffering from Dementia and could not even remember our names and faces, so how can you expect him to remember the quality of our CP (recitation)? Also, some professors are vindictive! If you argue with them in class, you are sure to get a P-, then some professors are just outright indifferent and has "retired on the job" they are just at AIM to pass their remaining time on earth (better than staying at home doing nothing)
November 7, 2008 at 8:14 AM
Unknown said…
@carpediem:

Looks like someone has been frustrated with his class performance.

Ease up o the Hate-erade. :)
November 7, 2008 at 10:18 AM
Anonymous said…
Nope, in fact, I graduated from AIM under a full (100%) academic scholarship (with stipend pa!), That was just my candid observation. Why? can't take the truth?
November 7, 2008 at 5:34 PM
Unknown said…
@carpediem:

Good for you. :)
November 7, 2008 at 7:54 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Getting Admitted to the MBA Program

By -
Let backtrack a bit: How was I able to get admitted to the Asian Institute of Management (AIM)? The admission process is a relatively brief process, but rigorous nonetheless. The AIM Website outlines the procedure on how to apply and the requirements as well. However, I found some old content at the AIM site that might get some users confused. But in spite of that, my experience in applying was a very smooth and hassle-free one. I made sure that I had the following accomplished: Application Form - This can be downloaded online . The application form is very long and has 14 essay questions! It is better to answer the essay questions briefly and direct to the point. Official Transcripts - This is my undergraduate transcript from the University of the Philippines - Diliman . Academic Recommendation Letter - I had a former professor of mine from the Ateneo Graduate School of Business accomplish this one. Professional Recommendation Letter - I asked a former superior make a recommenda...
Read more

My Experience with the Embassy of India in Manila

By -
Image
Are you a Filipino going to India? Be warned. You may be in for a great deal of frustration. I've been spending the past week arranging my visa for my Action Consultancy (AC) in India. (The AC is equivalent to AIM's industry internship for its MBA students; I'll blog more about this in future posts). The frustration has really been mounting because of the very confusing and Byzantine system of the Indian embassy here in the Philippines. First point of frustration: the customer service. I initially called the embassy to clarify the requirements and procedures. The embassy has an automated answering system that has a selection where a caller can get an itemized list of requirements. That's all. No information of procedures, steps or guidelines. I selected the option to talk to a staff member and when I asked my query, she told me I'll find everything I need at the Indian Embassy website . If you look at the site, there are some information, but not the ones I'm lo...
Read more

Asian Institute of Management in India?

By -
I've been following the "new campus" moves of the Asian Institute of Management as of late and while I said my piece a while back, there was some development that reached the media last week. I've speculated that AIM's new campus may be outside of the Metro Manila. But how about a new campus outside of the Philippines? President Francis Estrada said in an interview with Business Standard : AIM is an Asian Institute and is not just for the Philippines. We are thinking of creating campuses beyond the capital Manila and are looking at proposals to establish presence in India. My take on this is that from a strategic point of view, it's pretty sound.The Indian graduate education student market is very huge and talented and AIM had seen a big growth of Indian students since the start of the 2000's. Here's a fact: For the MBA program, the Indian population in AIM has steadily grown and if you compare the 2001 class to our class, the Indian percentage o...
Read more