Grades are such an interesting discussion because I feel as though they are not as simple as they seem.
The student in me thinks... Everything in high school was about grades, and pleasing my teachers. I didn't learn for me, and I didn't find enjoyment in learning. I enjoyed doing well in school because it pleased my teachers, and my family, and making people happy brought me joy. I really dislike this about myself, however, it does make up who I am. As I have grown up, I have had to learn and discover a passion for learning on my own, and I love that I get to have a unique and personal relationship with learning that belongs to me and me only.
Teacher bird Sarah... I do not want to grade my students - I do not want to constrict them into categories based on percentages. Grades do not make you who you are, and they are not going to determine who you will be.
Instead of pointing our fingers to elementary and secondary schools, I would rather us focus and start with post-secondary institutions and how we determine if someone is fit for a career, a future. How can we discuss K-12 schools without first discussing higher education and prospective careers, institutions, companies, and organizations, as these are the futures we are preparing our students for in the K-12 system. How do we evaluate if someone will do well in, and if they are fit for, a profession and why?
As I mentioned above, I feel as though it is not possible to discuss grades without discussing the way in which we admit students into post-secondary institutions. High school is a stepping stone to our futures, our careers. In order to get to where we want to be, we have to achieve certain averages so that we can be admitted into certain schools, and in turn, be able to enter our perspective careers. Universities hold standards that unfortunately favour those students who perform academically. We are all cases of this:
In order to apply for the Bachelor of Education program at UBC (or any university education program for that matter), students first have to attain a university degree. In their university degree, to even be considered for admission, they have to attain a 65% average at a minimum. Even if a someone had thousands of hours of experience, incredible references, and passion greater than other applicants, out systems do not permit them into the profession because of percentages. So what kind of teachers do we expect to have then when this is the system they are filtered through? What kind of people do we expect to have when this is the system they are filtered through?
As you can imagine, this isn't just for education. It is for medicine, law, trades, dentistry, pharmacy, post-doctoral studies, business, every profession you can imagine.
So, the question becomes how do we encourage learning without grades? Honestly, as someone who didn't start enjoying learning until later in life, I do not know. For me, I enjoyed and became passionate about learning once it was something I cared about. I needed to feel like my learning was benefitting not just myself but others as well. I think this ties back to when we were discussing "Sustainable Math" and how we, as high school math teachers, could add feeling to numbers. Maybe, the answer lies in bringing emotion into the classroom; emotion and logic existing in the same place.
All of these conversations lead back to what is our goal as educators, and as people. What is our goal for our children as they leave secondary school, and what do we consider as a "successful secondary education"? Do we want students to be prepared for the real world? What is the real world that we live in? What skills do our students need to have, vs. what would be nice if they had? What kind of people do we want our students to be?
Wow -- what a deeply meaningful response, bringing together societal analysis, emotion, memory and a synthesis of emotion and logic! This is thought-provoking and opens up many new questions. Thank you Sarah!!
ReplyDelete