Giving students A’s was just different in this week’s reading assignment. In my past, since my parents are retired educators, they instilled in us, their children, to always earn your grade and do not expect to be given grades. This section made many valid points when you think about measuring yourself next to someone, that whose to say just because they are not good in the subject that you are good in does not mean they are not an A student in something else.
That, to me shows that many of our students have so many gifts, that if they can express their academic talent in a different way, whether it be hands on, using technology, sports activity, or musically, by them explaining the subject area relatable to their world, culture, background, etc. Then why shouldn’t they be given an A. It would involve much lesson planning, but our students would have more successes and their self esteem would be at an all time high.
This really would be a more positive way to really earn this A. The teacher and the student would have their work cut out for them. It would also be very challenging for the teacher with so many different types of learners in one classroom.
It would be nice if a previous writing team including that teacher would prepare something like this in advance, so in the following school year this accommodation is put into place.
Zander, R. S. & Zander, B. (2000). The art of possibility: Transforming professional and personal life. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press
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great observation. Very few of us are great at everything, so it should be reasonable to understand that a student who might be struggling with reading may be perfectly at home with math and getting A's in math. So would this student be an "A" student or not? More than this, the important place to focus is on the student as a whole and not place a label on a student to keep them in a place. :-)
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