What Really Matters About Simon's Rock Students
Every year during Family Weekend at Bard College at Simon’s Rock, I recognize two
groups of scholars: students whose academic achievements qualify them for the Dean’s
List; and our scholarship recipients, who are honored for their achievement in a particular
intellectual or extracurricular endeavor.
As we prepared for this year’s event, I heard a story from a colleague about an international student, new to Simon’s Rock, who was congratulated by his advisor and the members of the Academic Affairs staff for having made the Dean’s List. He was polite and grateful for the recognition but also a bit bemused, for he had no idea what Dean’s List was — the honor doesn’t exist in his home country. It was only after my colleague explained that this young man realized that his grades had earned him an accolade from the College.
“If Simon's Rock students are attentive to their grades it is because grades are an authentic measurement of their mastery of the material. And at Simon's Rock, it is mastery that matters."”
I was struck by this story because, though it describes one individual’s situation, I think it captures something quite profound about the students who attend Simon’s Rock. Unlike at most colleges and universities, academic achievement here is not primarily a means to some other end — be it recognition on the Dean’s List, divisional awards, or a transcript littered with A grades — but an end in itself. It is the result of hard work, yes, but work that is inspired by deep curiosity and a willingness to grapple with challenging ideas, not by some sense of obligation or the promise of future professional success. If Simon’s Rock students are attentive to their grades it is because, given the small size of our classes and the close relationships among students and faculty, grades are an authentic measurement of their mastery of the material. And at Simon’s Rock, it is mastery that matters.
I do not mean in any way to detract from the accomplishments of the students we celebrate each year. On the contrary, I want to lead the chorus of praise for their achievements, achievements that are all the more impressive given the rigor of our academic program. But it is the combination of talent, intellectual engagement and what the Germans call Sitzfleisch, or persistence, that we honor at Convocation — a combination to which grades merely bear witness.
In thinking about the relationship between students’ achievement and their grades at Simon’s Rock, I am reminded of our rankings — which tend to be very high — in national polls of academic excellence. Recently, for example, Business Insider ranked us #41 on its list of 600 colleges with the “smartest students,” out of 4,700 colleges across the country. The conclusion was based primarily on SAT scores. What to make of such a ranking? On the one hand, we can be proud that a disinterested third party has affirmed what we know anecdotally to be true, that our students are really, really smart. But on the other hand, we realize that the SAT — which we do not even require for application — measures the least interesting thing about Simon’s Rock and the students who attend the College. Of course Rockers who take the test do well on it, but their scores, like grades, are not what we value here. We value the qualities that make SAT scores and grades possible: an eagerness to engage; the capacity to tolerate complexity rather than seek out ease and simplicity; and, above all, the willingness to work hard. These attributes — and sheer brainpower — are characteristic of Rockers, and well represented each year by the students we celebrate for their notable achievements.
-Peter Laipson