Grades have no meaning

If I ever had the power, there would be a lot that I would do to reform the American public school system. As a junior in public high school, I have never been homeschooled. And what that means, is that I have had a lot of experience with public school.

1) The emphasis on grades in public school (especially high school since that's when it matters) is horrible. Grades are subjective, and there are so many things that can affect the grade. The class difficulty, the teacher. What I have found to be the case is that all public schools want is for you to follow an exact model. And if you tend to swerve off that model and want to creatively do your own thing (while still obliging to the rubric) teachers will give you a B instead of an A, compared to a student who does the basic "follow the teacher model exactly," "use the same words the teacher would use", and not try anything new or different. Is public school all about how well you can follow directions? Because how boring is it to follow directions and never think for yourself? School does not foster enough creativity, and teachers do a horrible job of not letting it foster. If we are all supposed to think differently, how is a "What do you think was the main cause..." supposed to be answered the same way for everyone? After all, that's what historians do. They constantly change their mind, disagree, argue, find new evidence...do public schools want us all to think the same way? It's about points, isn't it? I suppose that's why history classes aren't perfect or preferred, why AP history students haven't mastered history, why AP history teachers say "it's the best answer, it comes down to two, and it's not perfect, it's wishy washy", and why students often prefer math or science for the "direct" right or wrong answers. You either know it or you don't and that's it. Period. Overall, because of this subjectivity, grades cannot define us. And it's upsetting to me, when my peers care so much about points. That's all they care about, all they're in for. It's like we've all been brainwashed. And people who want to think differently suffer for it.

2) Specifically I find this problem in English classes, where you think and write for yourself, supposedly. If you are allowed to add a comma where you would naturally "break your voice", then why is it that that there are only specific rules when you can add a comma and that programs like Grammarly.com have specific rules and "mistake" your writing when it doesn't follow the status quo? Status quo is going to be the main phrase here. If I was taught in elementary school to be creative and think of my own ways of doing things, and succeeded, and at the same time was taught to develop "my own voice" in writing, then why is it that this is actually setting me up for failure in middle school and high school? I specifically remember my fifth-grade teacher praising a student in my class because she wrote a piece "with her own voice." My class was confused and said, "what is 'your own voice' in writing?" My teacher went on to explain that it meant you wrote - the way you talked. And that there were all these devices to help you do so - such as that symbol that I just used. It connects a thought. Regardless, if this individual style of writing was so praised, and the comma is supposed to be used when you want a pause in the way you talk, then why am I looking at my piece right now with so many "Grammarly" errors? Teachers in elementary and even middle school themselves said "every step of the way" (i.e. elementary to middle school, middle school to high school) would be a harsh adjustment in terms of grades, and I now I know exactly why.

Looks like the grammar rules in English have been broken after all.

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