School as a Competition

I attend an Ivy League school-- so it probably shouldn't be shocking that it is fairly competitive. What I find most interesting is that the professors that I have admired and learned the most from don't set the classroom learning experience up as a competition, one where they only give out a certain number of A's, or don't give out A's at all. Instead, they encourage the class to learn together, to share in the experience given the various backgrounds, so that we can teach each other as well. It sounds a little dippy perhaps when I phrase it that way, but that's the general idea. We are in a public affairs program-- its about serving people wherever your gifts are-- we focus on government and non-profits rather than business.
I guess that it shouldn't surprise me that students are constantly comparing grades then. Frankly, if they want to, that's their business. But for me, education has always been about putting in my best effort, learning from my mistakes, and improving. I don't mind occasionally comparing grades with people that I know and trust when it is so that we can learn from each other. But I am not ok with comparison as a means of boosting one's self-esteem at the expense of others. That has always really bothered me. I don't always get A's-- I am someone who has had to work hard to get to where I am. I have friends who can blow off most of a semester of classes, write (or study) for finals the night before, and get a 4.0. I find that pretty amazing, as my brain simply doesn't operate that way. For me, education has always been a balancing act, one where I set my priorities to do as well as I can-- I can't invest as much time as I would like to on every single class that I take, there simply isn't the time available to do that. Instead, I prioritize.
So it bothers me when someone who I don't know very well walked up to me after seeing me get a graded paper out of my mailbox on campus asks me "What grade did you get?" It strikes me as rather ballsy. It wasn't a question (which in my view is more polite) of "How did you do?" I don't think that question is as inappropriate, as it allows for the option of saying "I did well" or, "Not as well as I would have hoped" or also the option of saying, "I got an A-" etc. So I looked at the person posing the question and asked why they wanted to know.
I have in many ways been set up as the default person to ask questions of in the class, as I have had the professor before, and he frequently calls on me (even when I don't have my hand raised to answer). The whole class knows it, so they ask me what the professor is looking for, how to prepare for the class, etc. And I don't mind these questions-- I am more than happy to help with the experience that I have-- a lot of the students are first years who are nervous about the first semester in grad school, and I'm glad that I can reassure them and help them. But I refuse to be set up as the means of comparison-- how well I do is frankly my business, and no one else's. It strikes me as a sad thing that this is how many students have been taught to operate when it comes to their education-- their self-esteem is based on their gpa.
My goal is to graduate being a more well-rounded person, due in part to the excellent quality of education I have received while I am here. That's what it's about for me. I realize that having a professional graduate degree from a recognizable school also makes me more employable in the fields I am interested in. But I don't like the numbers game that is played by some in order to get there. It makes me sad, because it doesn't seem like it is done from a place in the heart that seeks to encourage and build others up. And that is what I seek to be, no matter where I end up a year from now.
--brianna