Struggle is clearly not a measure of accomplishment in any way. When struggling, you may or may not learn things or 'develop as a person'. If you do learn or develop, that is an accomplishment whether or not it was your originally intended accomplishment. If you don't change in any way while failing, nothing has been accomplished by definition.
[And here's the annoying bit: having shot down the prompt and run out of anything worth saying, I have to transition to asnwering the question which the prompt thinks it is asking--something about life as fulfillment in the journey, not the destination. Nuts to that.]
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Comments
F: answer mentions nothing of success.
Posted by: Wilbur | October 3, 2006 06:27 PM
I rated low, but I think the writer makes a good point. These kinds of questions tend to be laughably front-loaded. They almost beg the student to go for a good grade by filling up the essay booklet with platitudes about the meaning of life and the human spirit and whatnot. This question could have been framed in a way that would lead the student toward a more philosophical/analytical answer, but unless you're dealing with a particularly naive and/or geeky 17-year-old, this question is going to generate a lot of Oprah-worthy emotionalist pabulum.
Posted by: Manolo Cabeza de Huevo | October 5, 2006 09:50 AM