In the article “The Work Ethic, in a Modern Guise”, Joanne B. Ciulla, argues that traits exhibited by today’s college students will be troublesome in the workplace. She begins her argument by stating that she is amazed to see her past students who were irresponsible changed into hard working employees with successful futures. She is rather delightful when she learns that her previous students are exceptionally good at their jobs. College students value the external rewards of work over learning for its own sake. A survey done on first year students attending the University of California, Los Angeles, showed that a majority of the students attended college to make more money. The way students participate in their studies further shows the reason why students are in a learning environment. College professors can get the idea of what type of person a student is just by seeing how students approach their studies.
Ciulla states that many students believe that they are “Entitled to Do-Over.” This is when students receive their test or assignments and see that the grade they received is not what they want; a majority of them ask the teacher if there is any way to improve the score despite it being the final grade. Students will do whatever it takes to raise their grade even when they are aware that they do not deserve the extra points. They aren’t aware that they don’t deserve a higher grade. They just think they deserve higher because they simply re-do the assignment.
Ciulla makes a reference to clock punching. “Clock Punching” is done in the workplace, where employees punch in the time they worked from and the time they finished. Employees are paid by the hour. Like so, students are saying that they deserve a higher grade on an assignment because they spent so much time working on it. Students overlook the time they spent on an assignment when they should be looking at the quality of the work. There exists a minor flaw in the educational world where many college students believe they are better than others. Professors give curves on tests, which gives the highest test score an automatic A+ even though that student may have actually deserved a B. This causes students to not fully grasp the greater amount of studying they need to dedicate into improving their actual knowledge of the subject. According to Ciulla, some employers are trying to make their workplace similar to the life of college so that their future employees will be able to easily adapt to an environment that is not so different. Basic guidelines like dress codes, structured office space, time clocks are restricted. This is done in the Google industry and is known as Google-izing. Unfortunately many businesses cannot Google-ize their workplaces because even minor mistakes can cause a problem. As a result, adjustments have to be made by the employees. Employees are starting to realize that the grades that they received in college will help them land a job, but does not guarantee a permanent spot.
The "Protestant work ethic" states that people should do their best work regardless of the external reward. From what I have seen and experienced myself, I agree with Joanne Ciulla that the behavior of today's high school or college students do not follow the Protestant work ethic. From my personal experience, I believed I was entitled to a do-over in multiple classes throughout high school. Receiving an A on all my tests was my top priority. If I were to receive a B+ that would drive me crazy. As great as the grade is, I would do whatever it takes to get the extra points to raise it to an A-. The reason why a B+ would frustrate me is because I wanted to get into a great college that would help me earn money in the future. It wasn’t self-improvement that I so desired, but the wish for money that motivated me.
As a high school student, I would stay up studying for an upcoming quiz or test. No matter how many hours I studied I would receive scores from the C to B+ range. I would spend countless hours until 3 A.M. studying for quizzes or tests that truly only required one or two hours. The days I receive my test score, I would be so frustrated at myself that the grade I received wasn’t what I felt I deserved. As an average high school student, I got easily distracted with the internet and texting that students of this generation have access to. I recognized the time I spent studying as more important than how I used those hours.
As a freshman at college, I have begun to see the different attitudes students have towards studying. Many people despise midterms because they count for a large portion of the final grade. When a professor announces a test has been canceled or postponed, students yell in excitement. Finals in college are more difficult than the finals given in high school and for that reason, many professors curve their test scores. During the fall quarter, my math professor curved the midterm so that scores were one letter grade higher than they should have been. Majority of the students smiled and screamed with joy. Receiving a higher grade than they deserved, students believed there was no need for improvement in the way they studied.
Ciulla states that students will have trouble in the workplace because they believe they are entitled to a do-over, see themselves as above average, and spend more time on work than to put hard work into it. I believe that most college students do not follow the protestant work ethic because students value the external reward more than the internal reward.