The history of Grades
The History of Grades
The article that really talked to me was the one provided here. The reason this was such a remarkable article was because I felt like I was taking a step back in time to my schooling. In this article the most important concept I took away from it was that grades take away "real" learning in the educational system. Grades were developed in the industrial era and were compared to grading shoes in the assembly line. I too felt that grades were not the biggest predictor of my learning in school. I had a great realationship with all my teachers but one thing that seemed to contradict this was my grades. I was a B student who had trouble taking tests because my memory was not great. In this article it talks about rote memorization as not predicting success after school. I was worried because when I read things in high school I had a hard time remember them for the test. Even the ACT was not something I performed well on.
Enough talking about me and my schooling...could this work in my classroom? Yes it could work in my class because getting to know the students is one of my main goals as an educator. Having to teach with pacing guides and curriculum that is not well written is not something I necessarily agree with. This article has triggered a part of my brain that makes me struggle as an educator in today's day and age. I have friends that were "gifted" students that are now unemployed because they thought everything would come easy to them. In the article cited above the author talks about how self-esteem is more important than grades. I agree with this notion because we see everyday that mental health is an epidemic in our country. If we foster individuals at a young age to practice grit and being true to themself then the rest will come easy.
The other biggest component of the resources that had an impact on me was the video about school in Japan. I liked the concept of the paint colors because it reminded me of the problem based learning were working on in EEND678Y. Much of the learning to be done in a PBL classroom happens because students are forced to learn through real life critical thinking skills. I like this because I try and impulate this in my classes. The debriefing at the end of lessons really looks like this my class because through games sometimes students have no idea the real life skills they are learning in PE.
The biggest question to ask is...how do we break a system that has been normalized for so long? I feel as if I am not in a position to change anything as far as grading goes. Parents in our community need grades to compare their kids to others. The parents are very interested in how to give their student the label of gifted or high achieving. Why though? Are their kids happy? Do they have critical thinking skills or interpersonal skills to navigate the real world? That's the true question.
The article that really talked to me was the one provided here. The reason this was such a remarkable article was because I felt like I was taking a step back in time to my schooling. In this article the most important concept I took away from it was that grades take away "real" learning in the educational system. Grades were developed in the industrial era and were compared to grading shoes in the assembly line. I too felt that grades were not the biggest predictor of my learning in school. I had a great realationship with all my teachers but one thing that seemed to contradict this was my grades. I was a B student who had trouble taking tests because my memory was not great. In this article it talks about rote memorization as not predicting success after school. I was worried because when I read things in high school I had a hard time remember them for the test. Even the ACT was not something I performed well on.
Enough talking about me and my schooling...could this work in my classroom? Yes it could work in my class because getting to know the students is one of my main goals as an educator. Having to teach with pacing guides and curriculum that is not well written is not something I necessarily agree with. This article has triggered a part of my brain that makes me struggle as an educator in today's day and age. I have friends that were "gifted" students that are now unemployed because they thought everything would come easy to them. In the article cited above the author talks about how self-esteem is more important than grades. I agree with this notion because we see everyday that mental health is an epidemic in our country. If we foster individuals at a young age to practice grit and being true to themself then the rest will come easy.
The other biggest component of the resources that had an impact on me was the video about school in Japan. I liked the concept of the paint colors because it reminded me of the problem based learning were working on in EEND678Y. Much of the learning to be done in a PBL classroom happens because students are forced to learn through real life critical thinking skills. I like this because I try and impulate this in my classes. The debriefing at the end of lessons really looks like this my class because through games sometimes students have no idea the real life skills they are learning in PE.
The biggest question to ask is...how do we break a system that has been normalized for so long? I feel as if I am not in a position to change anything as far as grading goes. Parents in our community need grades to compare their kids to others. The parents are very interested in how to give their student the label of gifted or high achieving. Why though? Are their kids happy? Do they have critical thinking skills or interpersonal skills to navigate the real world? That's the true question.
I think its interesting what you said about self esteem being a vital role for us to instill in students. I also think its intriguing to think about what role grades have in taking that away and establishing it for students who can often care so much about grades. What is the best way to help students foster grit? Can you still do that in a system with grades or is it better or worse suited for a gradeless system?
ReplyDeleteI would think that if you had a gradeless system then grit would not give the student a goal. I know that when I am taking these courses, grades sometimes help me focus on what I need to to achieve an A. I guess I am a product of the meat grading system though, it is just a different experience.
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