Robert Oliphant's Letter

In “Letter to a B Student,” Robert Oliphant argues that grades are not important, and getting a grade does not define who you are as a person. He also expresses that what is important is all on the inside, it’s how you carry yourself, and the impressions people get from you. Oliphant says, “Your grade does not represent a judgment on your basic ability or of your character. Courage, kindness, wisdom, good humor- these are the important characteristics of our species” (Oliphant 137). When you receive a “B”, it does not mean you are going to be labeled that forever. It is common for B students to continue to get B’s, just as A students are more than likely going to get A’s. That does not mean that A students are always going to achieve more than you. Your achievement in the future

depends on what you learn from the past, and how you are going to improve yourself. “One of my B students is now a prominent sportscaster on a local TV station; another is a successful writer; a third, I recently discovered is in Washington, running the country” (Oliphant 138.)
When I read “Letter to a B Student” I enjoyed reading about the strategies and tips that Oliphant was explaining.

I think it is a very motivating article, and it could help change someone’s perspective on their grades and life. From my understanding, it is about personality and character to get you somewhere in life and your grades are just an extra. Based on experience I have seen people with straight A’s that choose not to go on to pursue their dreams. That is why I agree with the article when it says, “Your B is a price tag on a garment that is quite separate from the living, breathing human being underneath” (Oliphant 137.) Throughout the article, I realized that I am not in college just to get a grade to impress someone in the future, but to also learn about things other than academics. Things like how to be independent, pay for my expenses, juggle life, school, and a job; life lessons taught based on experience. He made that strategy clear when he said, “What you have learned may help you find your way about at first; later on you will have to shift for yourself, locating goals and opportunities in the same fog that hampers us all as we move toward the future” Oliphant

(138.)