When I was in school, my main goal from each class was to get a credit with a good grade to put on my transcript.
It was only recently that I realized how badly I had missed the point. The purpose of an education is not a nice transcript or degree. Nicely printed pieces of paper can be obtained through much simpler means. The purpose of the education is improvement of the student -- her refinement and transformation so that she is better when she comes out of it than when she went into it.
It's like physical exercise -- the purpose is not to lift the weight or to cover the distance. If it were, we'd use cranes or vehicles. That would be much easier. But no, the purpose is to make the person doing it stronger, healthier and more fit. The weights and kilometres are only means to achieve that -- as are the tests, assignments and grades.
