[Critique Group 1] Marcia's December submission

[Marcia Wick]

Stop Grading Students during the Pandemic

Marcia J. Wick, The Write Sisters

December 2020

Word Count:  573

 

 

Life on all levels has been disrupted during the Corona Virus pandemic, yet
we hold onto pre-pandemic grading practices that are arbitrary and unfair
for students and teachers under these circumstances. 

 

Over the decades, our educational system has become data driven. We've
developed standardized tests that measure progress from grade to grade; we
even track learning from fall to spring. We've established benchmarks so we
can assign points and letters to equate learning. That's all well and good
during a "normal" school year, but soon we'll be entering the second year of
"abnormal," as this global health crisis continues into 2021. 

 

On top of stress and concerns over life and death matters, our children,
parents, and teachers feel pressure to meet a host of educational
expectations, compounding their capacity to manage mental and emotional
health challenges during this unprecedented time. The impact of the virus on
our economy, travel, public health system, small businesses, and public
entities like libraries is beyond our imagining. We look for the silver
lining in little things like spontaneous acts of kindness and creative
insights into coping with our solitude. But in the midst of our chaos, we
demand the security and comfort of sending our children off to school every
day, as if nothing is amiss.

 

Let's relax. History shows us that the disruption of a child's education
during the worst of times - war, famine, the age of cholera, the holocaust -
although having short-term impact, may be overcome over the long-term. Most
children continue to learn and develop naturally under difficult conditions,
especially if allowed the freedom to experience and explore while living
history in the making. On the other hand, under the best of circumstances,
many children resist learning when required to conform to standards. What if
a child who often fails wasn't graded relative to the performance of his
peers, but relative to his own progress and effort? Until students are able
to return to a structured classroom, why not allow them to explore learning
under their own terms during this epic time of difficulty and duress? 

 

If I were a social scientist, I'd jump at the opportunity and design a study
on the impact of "observing," not "measuring," the enthusiasm, motivation,
inspiration, and confidence children gain without a grading system to gauge
success. Might a student who often "fails" relatives to fellow students
seize the opportunity to explore any topic of interest to her? Rather than
drilling each fifth grader to master division, for instance, let each child
develop their own curriculum. If a student is interested in trains, yoga, or
video games, allow them to study the history of trains, yoga, or video
games. Ask the child to write a report on the impact of their topic on the
economy, health, or technology. Could the student apply their passion and
energy to ultimately qualify as an "expert" in his area of interest? After
all, that's what's required to advance, excel, earn a living, and build a
career.

 

Learning is a process. Children arrive at understanding at different points
along the road. Must they meet a specific milestone by a specific age or
grade in school? What if a student learns beyond her years about space
travel, but she can't identify a pronoun? What if the lad who is dyslexic
can engineer a mouse trap that produces solar energy? What if we gave each
student a passing grade and a pass for 2020?

 

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