First of all, I do not believe cramming for an exam and forgetting everything afterwards is "gaming the system". This is what the system encourages and the syst

First of all, I do not believe cramming for an exam and forgetting everything afterwards is "gaming the system". This is what the system encourages and the system is broken. Cheating might be called "gaming the system", but unfortunately it is equally encouraged by the system. There are students who will find ways to get a top grade and subsequently retain none of the knowledge. There are students who will actually learn everything and only bother to get a passing grade because the theatre of school is boring to them. There are also sudents who will find ways to get a passing grade, without having gained any knowledge at all, and they will be content with that. It is a mistake to lump any of these categories together. I know people in all of them, and depending on the subject, I was also in all of them. The affinity a student has for a teacher is a major, maybe even the most important, factor in determining the ammount of motivation and interest a student will show for a certain subject. And I believe this stays true at all levels.