September 12, 2000:

One of the most interesting aspects at Penn is that all the business classes are curved. This means that a certain percentage of a class will get A, while for example the worst 10% will fail. Students are thus forced to compete, a fact that does not always have positive results.

An example of this is that students have to participate in class. This might sound good in theory, yet it turns out that it is just the opposite. Americans are known to be a nation of obnoxious and loud individuals (btw, that's one of the reasons why we sent them out of Europe), though this factor is not particularly relevant in this case. The issue is rather that students tend to say "whatever" in class, this as everyone is desperately trying to present an intellectual image to the professor and everyone else.

My marketing recitation today was a great example of this. It sounded like this:

Teacher: So, can you give me an example of a company that is actively marketing its products?

Student 1: Nike, they sell shoes.

Teacher: Brilliant! Yes! Excellent!

Student 2: GM, they sell cars!

Teacher: Excellent, that's also a brilliant example!

Then the teacher asked where the companies sell their products (stores), to whom (customers), and almost all the students were ready to answer whatever question the professor should ask:

Teacher: Favourite colour?

Student 1: Blue.... No, red!

Student 2: No, it isn't!

Student 3: I agree with Student 1, and thus decided to raise my hand to contribute with this information that can not be described as anything else but useless.

Anyway, the ability to say absolute nothing in very long, complex sentences is a must when coming to Wharton Business School (part of UPenn). This is a skill I already possess though, so let the competition begin!