No one left behind … and no one gets ahead.

I’m growing increasingly frustrated with the public schools here.  It’s not enough that money is wasted on advertising.  Or that there seem to be entirely too many short school weeks and long weekends.  Or that literacy (meaning reading) is pushed almost to the exclusion of other subjects.  Or that creationism is taught as science.  Our neighborhood school is quite good but I still have issues.

Then I read this in the paper:

Nutana considers axing failing grades

Nutana Collegiate is a high school.  Failing grades hurts the students’ feelings.  I believe the word “degrade” was used.  Isn’t that kind of the point of a failing grade?  To let the student know how poorly they did in the class and how far they were from passing?  “Incomplete” doesn’t say the same thing as 30% or 40% (or, in the States, as an F or a D).  It just says “you didn’t finish the class.”  An “incomplete” should be reserved for students who could not finish a class for a health condition, not for someone who didn’t do the work.

Seriously.  School, and in some cases University, has been so dumbed down that I just don’t see how someone could fail to pass.  Speaking of University, won’t this new grading scheme complicate admissions?  There’s a difference between a student who failed math then passed with an average mark compared to a student who passed the first time with an average mark.  This seems a bit dishonest since an incomplete can be removed when a mark above 50% is earned.

I almost forgot.  Giving a failing grade makes the teachers feel bad, too.  As if they have failed.  Shouldn’t they know whether they did their best or not?  Grades aren’t given to make anyone feel good or bad.  Grades are given to signify how well the work was done and lessons learned.

What about the students who do flourish under the traditional system?  You know, the system which educated all of today’s teachers?

Maybe we could have two tracks in high schools.  One could be the traditional track where students are taught academic subjects and assessed on how well they master those subjects as demonstrated via assignments and tests.  The other track could be the gentle track where students will be taught minimal amounts of traditional subjects along with self-esteem building activities.  They will be assessed on how hard they try and how much they participate.  Maybe graduation could be decided by consensus via parent/teacher/student meetings?