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aggravated They make everyone either sad/mad/apathetic/distant. I, for one, didn't show my parents mine for fears of getting chastised (Yeah, shut up I do ok, so what? It's not good enough for my dad!).
What's the fucking point of grades anyways? Sure, they tell you a quantifiable number to represent how much you understood in what you were taught, but they are a medium for Evil! Instead of going to school to learn, kids are forced into going to school to get grades. The smartest people are not challenged by even the most challenging material provided by the school, and grades don't negatively affect them; however, what about the students who do decent-terrible in their quantities? It discourages learning, and instead instills stress and working for numbers. I know plenty of amazingly intelligent people who take easy classes so they don't have to worry about the workload that comes with a more challenging class (*cough* Dylan, Shela, Tiffany); with a no-grade system, these students would most likely accel in school, as the fierce and unnessecary workload might not be imposed on them.
I have talked to many people on this subject, and I've arrived at the conclusion that if grades were abolished, like in so many successful private schools, students would be pursuing their interests and focusing less on what they are uninterested in. Sure, we need exposure to subjects that we don't usually find interesting, but at a certain point, a person knows they are not going to incorporate that knowledge in their lives. In this fashion, children would gradually (the majority at least..) come to look foward to school.
By abolishing grades, you remove stress, and you allow kids to actually learn, rather than learn things for a test, one they will forget about in a perspectively short time. Kids would be able to focus on what challenges them, teachers would be a method of challenge, and the intense press to get good grades would not stand in the way of learning. School should not be about a race for marks, it should focus on challenging those who need it, and learning!
February 2 2005, 12:36:05 UTC 7 years ago
February 2 2005, 20:05:10 UTC 7 years ago
February 2 2005, 22:28:19 UTC 7 years ago
February 3 2005, 00:55:36 UTC 7 years ago
Well
Well how is a student supposed to be able to guage their own acheivement? If you don't like grades you can choose to ignore them, no one is forcing you to judge yourself based on grades, its only for others to have some way to guage you. I don't mean to put it that way. What I am saying is that this is how school could be if the population and people fighting over colleges, etc weren't numbered in the billions. People have to have something to compete with. Yes, they could be tested for the job-but that would be called grading now wouldn't it? Colleges need a way to filter students, I'm not saying its perfect but think about if you could go to any college you want. This wouldn't work out very well now would it.February 3 2005, 05:37:30 UTC 7 years ago
Re: Well
Take into consideration the people that say, don't do homework, but know all the material. I know plenty of people like this. They don't want to complete useless school work for a grade when they know how to do everything inside and out.To condemn them out of jobs or colleges because of their grades is unjust, and stupid. These people could be major contributors so society, but are held back by the state's/college's feeble attempt at gauging students. This gauging system doesn't take into account cheating, short-term memorization, interest, copying, etc. I know plenty of people who get great grades because they can memorize information to take a test. That is not intelligence, it's a good memory.
Colleges should not be concerned with the time it takes to properly filter students. Looking at a number which is affected by a million different stimuli does not accurately reflect anything. Most of the students I know who can ace any test but have horrible grades get overlooked by colleges they deserve to be in, to get an actual challenge.
People who work at school to get grades generally don't care about what they are learning, but just want to look good on paper so they can fufill their parent's dreams. Frankly, being able to work hard and memorize information is not that amazing a feat, it's not truly intelligence (not that I'm saying all people who do this aren't intelligent).
School, though, is advertised as a place where you learn. I don't see too much learning going on, I see "manifest destiny". I deserve and have to go to college because I will/am get/getting great grades. Aaron, YOU have told me that you are only in school to get into college, and without college as a motivation, you would not be trying at all. People should not be going to college just so they can get a job. People should be pursuing their interests first, then pursuing money (in fact, this course of action has gotten many people rich [Bill Gates? Skateboarders? T-shirt design companys?]).
To seperate the people who want to learn from the people who want to get money is important. Slopping them both together in a supposedly erudite environment is inconsiderate to those that are there for a pursuit of knowledge, rather than a pursuit of reimbursement for their time.
February 3 2005, 21:42:23 UTC 7 years ago
Re: Well
Well then they can go to a college that has less requirement on grades. But if they want to go to a college that looks at grades, then they have to play by the rules and deal. And as I said, they can choose to ignore the grades if they really want to. If people can learn to do what they are required to bvy society, their "homework," how can they learn how to follow any rules?February 2 2005, 23:54:24 UTC 7 years ago
Anonymous
February 3 2005, 05:30:38 UTC 7 years ago
I'm not saying you're wrong, quite the opposite, but your ideas are about 98 years too late to be revolutionary. Hell, in Chicago there is legislation to ban grades until th 5th grade on.
I know you recognize the existence of these types of schools, but there is one major block to non-graded classrooms becoming standard. They are so very, very cost innefficent. It requires a great amount of work on the teacher's part and a lot of individualized attention. For a system that currently pumps out a large number of kids, a non-graded system would put way too much strain on the already thin budgets.
Plus, in order for the system to work, you need motivated students. If you have motivated students, or kids who are at least good at faking it, you get good results. Otherwise, you end up with the lolleriffic Sudbury Valley where the curriculum looks like "11-2, play X-Box, 2-4, nap." While part of the problem for some students might be that they get discouraged, it's also highly possible they are just freakin lazy. Removing the source of the anxiety will reduce pressure, but it also removes the only thing most students know how to work for. If I were to say "Ok, listen to me even though you will not be tested and there will be no objective measurement of your performace" do you really think the kids with GPAs of <2.0 are really going too give a shit or even bother trying?
But hey, keep on ragin' against the machine.