Teachers - No Grades

I think most of us would agree that teachers work hard. Many of us spend our own time coming up with great lesson plans. I recently came across a site where teachers pay teachers for their hard work. Simply sign up for free, submit your created lesson plans, set your price, and other teachers will pay you for your creativity. There are some free lessons as well.

Grades

I have decided to share with you an experience that I had just this morning at the breakfast table. I was having a conversation with my family members regarding some changes that I have made in my teaching styles, which have evolved overtime. I was sharing with my family that I have stopped giving grades. They were appalled. If you can imagine a very lively family conversation, that describes the setting to say the least.

It sort of happened accidentally for me. I had a student whom I had been tutoring for years and she had been placed into my classroom for the school year. I knew how much she measured herself and her grades against others and saw how it was accomplishing nothing but helping her to feel defeated. Each year I ask the children to fill out a form that tells me a bit about themselves. On her paper she wrote how relieved that she was that I already knew all about her and still liked her even though she was not a good student. As the year progressed, I made a decision to omit putting a grade on her papers. Do you know that she never asked what her grade was? I used the test as a teaching tool instead. I corrected the test but only circled the errors. I told her that we would go over the concepts that she missed and would remain with them until she got them. It was a quick assessment of the skills that she was yet lacking. I soon realized that this method was of benefit to her, as her confidence level was improving. The light bulb went on. I asked myself why I was putting grades on any of mu students' papers. I merely began to correct the tests by only circling the errors, placing students in groups of skills that they needed support on. I have watched my students working hard and, most importantly, progressing at an even greater rate.

I teach at the upper elementary level and this works well for my students and cannot speak for how well this would work fofor upper grade levels. I could only challenge teachers to give it a try - if for no one else - for the students whom they know will have a low grade. Let me ask you to ask yourself - what purpose does it do for the student to put a low grade on a paper for that student? Does it help them to become a better student?

Homework

This is another issue of contention for me. I give homework but I do not grade my students for their homework. Number one, I do not know who did the homework. I have had parents outright tell me that they do their homework for the children. What am I supposed to respond to that? I merely tell them that it is not helping their children. They chuckle sheepishly and tell me they know that but things are so hectic that they feel compelled to do so. I will also share with you that I am frank that my daughter has had a bad habit of skipping homework at times and it factored into her grade to the point one year that she had to go to summer school. I did NOT do her homework for her. I let her suffer the consequences. My daughter has evolved into a responsible young lady because I allowed her to learn from her mistakes. Trust me I tried rewards, taking things from her as negative consequences, grounding her and the thing that worked most effectively was allowing her to take responsibility and learning that the world will give her consequences even when I do not. It is one of the hardest things to do as a parent - watching your children make mistakes and suffer the results of those choices. In my opinion, however, it is what a good parents does for their child.

The other issue that really bothers me with homework though is that homework gets averaged into a child's grade. As I just mentioned, it is not always the child who is doing the homework. Personally I contend that there should be a place on a report card for a child not showing responsibility and fulfilling their committments. I have not had a problem with my daughter having a consequence for not doing her homework - detention with support in math or the like - but she attended summer school and earned a high 90 average. Her teacher asked her why she was in summer school, as she clearly did not need the help. Now, perhaps that was a good consequence for her but it took time away from students who truly needed the help. I told her how selfish I thought it was of her to take time from other students due to her own lack of responsibility. Before you think me a mean ogre, my daughter is often told many, many positives things by me regarding her wonderful traits and qualities. She is over-all a delightful, mature, and beloved daughter. This issue, however, was definitely an issue of contention between the two of us. The school system should be recognizing this as well and not allowing capable students to take time from those who are truly struggling.

Differentiated Instruction

Hah! Hows that for an educated commentary on differentiated instruction in our education system today? Please allow me to share with you that my eldest child is now a physician. My second child struggled in school. We did not know until his mid teen years that he had ADHD. Thus, I personally have raised children on opposite ends of the spectrum. I struggled to find outlets for a very academically talented young man and I struggled to find help and support for an academically challenged young man. I was not a teacher until my children were a bit older; thus, I did not understand the system or the challenges that my children were facing from the inside. I was not an extremely vocal parent as I felt that I needed to trust the system. Now please do not get me wrong - speaking for the school district I work in - I am very proud of the manner that we address students. I like to say that it is very prescriptive and probably near the best of the best in regards to what we presently have to offer. I still go back to my original - hah! That means that we are still far from where we need to be. Children who are ADHD are still expected to sit in their seats - for the most part - do their work - focus - and succeed. Many of them just CAN'T. They are great kids but they just cannot focus in the way that many children are able to. The problem is that teachers have 28 plus students in their classes and do their best to address the individual styles of students. We need to identify the students who have difficulties learning in the traditional style and offer increasingly alternative learning settings.

I hope that this hub offers at least something to ponder on and try in your classrooms. Parents, you can be more vocal without being difficult (parents worry about being labled) - speak up for your children. It is actually the parents who do speak up who often get services for their children first.

Howard Gardner has challenged the thinking of learning for many years regarding the different styles of learning. Check these videos out on Youtube.

 Twelve styles of learning