If you ask a bleary-eyed high school teacher how things are going at school, he’ll likely mention grades within a few sentences. “Grades were due last night and I’m spent”… “I was up late emailing a parent about a grade.” Scores of teachers burn out of the classroom every year, many of them citing the […]
There’s a dark irony within our current educational institutions. It appears as if the very time in which we began to place a heavy emphasis on test scores and practical skills is exactly when our schools and students started heading downhill. Don’t misunderstand me. I do not mean to imply that there was once a
At some point upon entering 9th grade, the mindset of the student changes. Previously, he may have considered grades a curiosity, but now they are a badge of pride or shame. The new obsession with grades is not entirely internal, as parents also look towards college and its guardians: SATs and scholarships. While parents and
Why should tests cause us suffering rather than blessing? Finding a test that encourages instead of depressing.
You knew it was coming. It comes every quarter. But predictability doesn’t make it any easier. Every time we approach grades, I often end up asking myself existential questions. Why? What’s it all for? What do grades mean anyway? The wherefore hits home when one considers that although we classical educators philosophically oppose scienticism and
“My son likes your class, but what he really loves is soccer.” From time to time I hear a parent make this remark during a parent-teacher conference, although it never comes as a surprise. Sports are on the hearts of the students. Students have taught themselves sports diligently. Students talk of sports when they sit
Is Your Sports Program More Classical Than Your Academic Program? Read More »
