Are today's kids just dumb sissies or just overly coddled beneficiaries of industrial lifestyle?I never understood the overly liberal idea of playing tee-ball but not keeping score.
The idea was hatched in order to improve a child's self esteem.
But all it does is create a false sense of accomplishment.
When everyone gets a trophy for just being there - there is no need to improve (or to even try).
The reward without the work creates a sense of entitlement and a false sense of confidence.
But what happens when these kids go up against other children who were groomed to succeed?
What good will this false confidence be?
Some school districts are now trying the concept of schools without grades (both grade levels and grades on a report card as a measurement of one's understanding of a subject).
http://educationalissues.suite101.com/article.cfm/denver-school-eliminates-grade-levels
The concept of placing kids in grade levels based on their understanding of the material actually sounds pretty smart.
This concept will help teachers focus on the material being taught - instead of always playing catch-up with the slower learning students.
Sure, there may be some ten year old second graders (and maybe some behavioral issues dealing with children who don't feel as qualified as their peers).
But this will diminish over time.
How unusual is it to have thirty or forty-somethings in a college class with a bunch of eighteen or nineteen year olds?
Having kids who are actually capable of doing the prescribed school work may actually cut down on drop-outs.
Robert Balfanz, a research scientist at John Hopkins University, gives the four most telling signs of a future drop-out:
Grades
Behaviors
Attendance
Tardiness
He states that these signs are more telling than other factors such as; Race, Test Scores and Socioeconomic Status.
Many children are just shuttled to the next grade level without an understanding of the material from their previous grade level.
Many parents fail to hold their kids back a grade level (or two) because of the fear of their children "looking dumb".
But this just leads to their children actually being dumb.
So in an effort to cut down the dismal performances of many school districts - this might be an idea whose time has come (sans the no grades on report cards).
4 comments:
My son attended a school that had multiple grades in one classroom. 1st - 3rd, 4th - 6th and then 7th & 8th
All was good in 1st - 3rd. When he got to the 4th - 6th level, there was just too much drama. The older boys just wanted to fight, and my son (as a 4th grader) wanted to date an 8th grader. Yikes.
I think it could work so long as the administration took immediate action against any inappropriate discussions, fighting, etc.
The admin team in his school was very weak, so after 4th grade I changed his school. We're much happier now.
here we are talking about the crazy things schools are doing, which we should be concerned about because the majority of us arent home to raise our own kids, so this stupidness at school is what we have been replaced by.
This feel good type of foolishness gives people a false sense of accomplishment. If everyone thinks they are #1 what do they have to work to......
If you need a blame for no score T-Ball, I would lay it on some Coaches and Parents. I see them screaming at kids untill the child is scared to play. I would say Kids are already competive, they want to be first all the time. They have to learn the game first then how to win. Score keeping is fine but tame the Adults over it first.
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