"Failure is impossible for High School Students! (No Really!)" A news article about the grade system

[scorptatious]

http://shine.yahoo.com/event/momentsofmotherhood/failure-is-impossible-for-high-school-students-no-really-2410739/

Basically, this one school has decided to replace the "F" grade with the letter "I" for Incomplete. The reason why they did this is because they believe it can get students to "learn their lesson and catch up over the year." Naturally, there are people who oppose this new system and say it just coddles the students, making them believe that school and grades aren't a big deal.

The thing I'm confused about is the "I" grade supposedly convincing students to catch up. Isn't that what the "F" grade was basically designed for? From what I see, all you're doing is changing the letter of the absolute worst grade you can get, how is that going to change anything?

What do you guys think?

 

[DkLnBr]

Basically, this one school has decided to replace the "F" grade with the letter "I" for Incomplete. The reason why they did this is because they believe it can get students to "learn their lesson and catch up over the year."

This will prepare students for real life, where failure is impossible and if you dont do something by the deadline then you can always do it later, when convenient for you [/sarcasm]
The whole idea wont work, the idea just encourages procrastination and makes students think that life is very forgiving and easy. So when they graduate they will not be able to handle real life.

The thing I'm confused about is the "I" grade supposedly convincing students to catch up. Isn't that what the "F" grade was basically designed for? From what I see, all you're doing is changing the letter of the absolute worst grade you can get, how is that going to change anything?

Exactly, all it does is make the failure sound better, so that the parents dont have to admit that their "little angel" is failing school

 

[TheLaofKazi]

I'll probably have a different opinion then most people on this. You see, if it were up to me, I either wouldn't have any sort of conventional, standardized, linear grading system, or at least one that is forgiving and doesn't have a huge impact, with other methods of evaluation that encourage and nurture intellectual growth be focused on instead that create a more positive, organic atmosphere in school.

But that's just my super-idealistic-never-gonna-happen viewpoint that I don't need to get into.

But there are some more practical benefits to such a grading system. I remember back a few years ago I took Spanish class, and I really hated it, and quickly fell behind the rest of the class, and my grade suffered greatly. The more my grade dropped, the more depressed I got about the class, the more hopeless the whole thing felt, and I more I felt like just saying "fuck it." And eventually, I did, because even if I worked ridiculously hard, my chances of getting a decent grade, or even passing the class, were slim.

My point is, the threat of not failing the class would have taken much of the pressure and depression out of that situation. I think it may have benefited, although I can't say for certain, and I definitely can't say for other people.

But school is stressful, and I think our growing focus on strict grading and standardized testing is frightening. People don't need constant threats of failure, not achieving, low test scores and people being disappointed in them to learn. People learn all of the time when they develop a love and passion for it, yet that's exactly what our public school system is taking out of learning: The fun, the passion and the exploration. They have turned learning into a chore, a job that needs to be done - or else you won't be successful.

I say we shouldn't be afraid to experiment with different methods of education, learning and grading, because, obviously our current ones are failing the students.

 

[Canid117]

How about we keep the F but everytime they get one a large man with a hammer whacks them upside the head? That would motivate a few people. I'm not in high school anymore so I don't have any sympathy for the lazy fucks.

Or maybe you could actually use your brain for a while and come up with a real solution.

 

[Infinatex]

Meh, grades are pointless until the last year of school anyway, and then only if you want to go do more study at a University.

If you are an idiot, you don't go to college. If you're smart, you go to a good college and get a good job.

Not always true. I got a great job and I never set foot in a Collage/Uni. I hated learning and study environments, so the last thing I wanted when I finished school was more school. There are many other ways to land a sweet job without more study.

 

[Icarion (aka Stockholm)]

Let the people who dont do work fail and drop out. I have nothing but contemp for them. If you put in even the slightest effort you will be able to scrape by with a D. In my school you do the work you get (usually) at least a C. If you're smart you get an A. Especially in high school kids should learn that you have to work to suceed. No Fs just pushes them farther from reality and just sets them up for a crash either in Colledge or IRL. (I'm in 9th grade btw)

 

[CrazyMedic]

I think F is better simply for the fact that it has a stigma "WHAT YOU GOT AN F" compared you got a I mean it just sounds better.

 

[Infinatex]

Meh, grades are pointless until the last year of school anyway, and then only if you want to go do more study at a University.

If you are an idiot, you don't go to college. If you're smart, you go to a good college and get a good job.

Not always true. I got a great job and I never set foot in a Collage/Uni. I hated learning and study environments, so the last thing I wanted when I finished school was more school. There are many other ways to land a sweet job without more study.

Cool story bro, I don't remember saying anything about not being able to get a good job if you didn't go to university. However, if you had gone, maybe you would have comprehended it a little better.

Be more specific with your posts then... It made it sound that way. I wasn't trying to be hostile buddy. Just posting an opinion. Leave it at that.

 

[Blueruler182]

My school was already doing this... not really, but it was a learn at your own pace school so it might as well have.

...My pace is slow...

 

[Lullabye]

meh, i stopped caring about grades in grade 4. I went to school to learn. not do tedious work. plenty of that in the future. Though if it was something i had trouble learning, I would practice it.(like in math, I would do the equations. In italian, I would read the textbook, etc) but i really didn't care for the grades at all.

 

[SimuLord]

This will only further exacerbate the increasing levels of depression and other mental illnesses in people between ages 22-30.

One thing Millennials can be reliably counted upon to do in life is fall apart at the first sign of adversity. It makes them impossible to manage, difficult to work with, and not worth a damn when they become "adults" (and I use the term loosely).

Our civilization's fucked. Soon as Gen-X gets old enough to retire America's gonna be a Third World country...it's already trending that way.

 

[Giest4life]

Meh, grades are pointless until the last year of school anyway, and then only if you want to go do more study at a University.

If you are an idiot, you don't go to college. If you're smart, you go to a good college and get a good job.

Not always true. I got a great job and I never set foot in a Collage/Uni. I hated learning and study environments, so the last thing I wanted when I finished school was more school. There are many other ways to land a sweet job without more study.

Cool story bro, I don't remember saying anything about not being able to get a good job if you didn't go to university. However, if you had gone, maybe you would have comprehended it a little better.

Be more specific with your posts then... It made it sound that way. I wasn't trying to be hostile buddy. Just posting an opinion. Leave it at that.

Attending college doesn't do anything for civility, apparently.

 

[Aurora Firestorm]

America needs to learn to let people suffer consequences for their actions. Even if you're a kid who has to study really hard to get C's, the point is you put forth effort and you passed. You learned the material enough to continue in your education. If you fail, you didn't learn the material, and as such you need to repeat it.

It's not a judgment of you as a person. People have a hard time figuring this out. A letter is a letter. It's a measure of how much material you remembered and applied correctly. It isn't a show of your worth as a person; it isn't a measure of your personality.

So we need to stop thinking that grades are something we defend kids against. On the flip side, we need to encourage a culture where being intelligent is good, not stupid and "dorky" and awkward. Until those two are done, we'll be encouraging voluntary failure.

As one of my friends nearby just said, "Sounds like all their classes are 'do the work when you want' classes, then."

 

[BehattedWanderer]

F is definite, says "Good job dipshit, you F'd up."

I helps people think "Well, I could always pass it off as something else." or "Well, it might be the teacher's fault."

Let them fall out. Those that want to do better, will either recover, try again, and do it right, seeking help if they need it, or will serve as the bottom rung of our society. As a group we're already leaning more on technology, learning less, hoping the computers will make us smarter. Such is not the case, friends.

 

[ThreeDogsToaster]

Look, our education system is DESIGNED so that no matter how stupid you are, if you put even a minimal amount of effort into your studies you WILL be able to pass the class. If you got an F, you meant to get an F, it was not because you were just mentally incapable of doing any better, it's because you didn't try, and giving someone another chance to not try is not going to fix anything.