TOW #16 - Visual Text "Bad Grades: 1960 vs. 2010"

    The education system in the United States has dramatically changed over the course of the last few decades. Although the improvements in the quality of education have made positive impact on millions of lives, the change has also intensified the competitive nature amongst Americans. Due to the extremely competitive education system, there is currently a controversial change in the perception of bad grades. "Bad Grades: 1960 vs. 2010" vividly and humorously illustrates this 21st century issue through the use of clear juxtaposition.
    As the college acceptance process is currently at its all time high in term of competitiveness, more and more parents have changed their views on bad grades. In the 1960's scenario in illustration, the parents blame the child for simply failing a test and demand better performance from the student. However, in the scenario half a century later, the parents do not accuse the kid for the poor performance on his test, rather they blame the teacher for the critical grade. The illustrator explicitly reveals the differences in ideologies by positioning both time periods next to one another. By adjacently placing the two situations together, the viewers can easily make out the discrepancy of when a student obtains a bad grade. The author argues through the image that times have changed and today's parents usually blame teachers for bad grades, not the child. As colleges are becoming more selective, parents are prioritizing their child's grades before the improvement of the student themselves.
     The vast development of America's schooling has changed the views of countless parents across the nation, for better or for worse. While the cartoonist does not definitively take a stance on the change, the illustration effectively argues that there has been a huge shift in perceptions on students receiving bad grades.  With such a huge change in merely half a century, it is difficult to imagine how much differently the relationship between the parents and the education system will play out in the next fifty years.