Grading System
Should grading be abolished in college and university courses
Yes
by Rebecca Ashby
Created on: December 04, 2007
I feel that in my years of interrelating with my students I have made a profound difference in their lives. I make this proclamation because I have always believed in the power of critical thinking. Too many educators approach teaching with only a standard curriculum and never ask their students to "color outside the lines." By the time the kids get to college, they are robots who sit in a classroom and expect their instructors to feed them information which they will memorize, short term, and forget right after the exam. I assist them to become creative again after they have been told to be receptive only for their entire school experience. I challenge them to interact with each other and express their viewpoints. I teach oral communication so it's the perfect realm for their self actualization.
The public school system as it exists today is a stifling creation of an outdated system. In order for students to succeed in school, you have to challenge their minds and the present system does not. My recommendation would be to scrap it completely. Do away with grades as a way to measure progress; do away with chronological age restrictions; do away with the present logistical structure. Create a system that measures a child's ability to question, to grow, to interact with his peers. The system that presently exists is perfect for the average kid but how many are really average? Our system rewards mediocrity. If a child can sit in a classroom, not create a discipline problem and feeds back with rote memory the information that has been handed to him, then we consider him a success but does this make great leaders or outstanding artists? No, it doesn't. And why do we require every child to be proficient in every subject? After all, as adults, most of us figure out what we're best at and go for it. Why don't we let the kids do what they are drawn to rather
Yes
by Rebecca Ashby
Created on: December 04, 2007
I feel that in my years of interrelating with my students I have made a profound difference in their lives. I make this proclamation because I have always believed in the power of critical thinking. Too many educators approach teaching with only a standard curriculum and never ask their students to "color outside the lines." By the time the kids get to college, they are robots who sit in a classroom and expect their instructors to feed them information which they will memorize, short term, and forget right after the exam. I assist them to become creative again after they have been told to be receptive only for their entire school experience. I challenge them to interact with each other and express their viewpoints. I teach oral communication so it's the perfect realm for their self actualization.
The public school system as it exists today is a stifling creation of an outdated system. In order for students to succeed in school, you have to challenge their minds and the present system does not. My recommendation would be to scrap it completely. Do away with grades as a way to measure progress; do away with chronological age restrictions; do away with the present logistical structure. Create a system that measures a child's ability to question, to grow, to interact with his peers. The system that presently exists is perfect for the average kid but how many are really average? Our system rewards mediocrity. If a child can sit in a classroom, not create a discipline problem and feeds back with rote memory the information that has been handed to him, then we consider him a success but does this make great leaders or outstanding artists? No, it doesn't. And why do we require every child to be proficient in every subject? After all, as adults, most of us figure out what we're best at and go for it. Why don't we let the kids do what they are drawn to rather