“The curtailment of freedom, the demand to serve the purposes of others, has dulled the edge of growth and has deprived the learner of the use of the tool by which he can learn and grow.”
— Earl Kelley in “Education and the Nature of Man,” (1952)
By Ron Friesen / Herald Forum
How much has changed in 70-plus years since America educator Earl Kelley’s book? Very little, except now, students rebel by refusing to participate, much to the consternation of our antiquated school system. Fine and performing arts are best at avoiding this problem. Yet, they are the first to get the budget ax. In my band classes, the goal was to help students look good, feel good and be good. And the No. 1 mantra, posted at the door was, “In band, nobody sits on the bench.”
There were mastery tests on skills and music after concerts. Then came translating participation and skills into a final grade. The mandated achievement-only system looked at skills and did not work in arts classes. So I rebelled and set up my own system. Grades were A, B, C or F; no D’s! (A D only meant we had given up on you, and we didn’t want you back.)
C was for Courage. It is hard to play by yourself in front of your peers! If a student only got out one or two notes, C was earned. The only way to earn an F was to refuse to try. Other students would encourage them, “Just play one note; you can do it!” So an F was the hardest grade to earn. Then, a student could play privately to raise their grade to B. And again in front of the class for the A.
The relentless focus was on concert participation, positive classroom participation, and being prepared each day, because high achievement was what resulted. Students could earn a B on skills tests, but earn a final A if all participation areas were positive. This is how 90 percent or more students earned their A.
Grades were not averaged; they were based on the final achievement. So a first quarter C and second quarter A resulted in semester grade of A, not B.
Other teachers tried this. Surprise! Grades went up, but not because teachers were giving higher grades! Student participation went up, so achievement went up. Teachers discovered their autonomy and helped their students. Happy students and parents. Happier teachers. Higher grades. Trifecta!
Secondary teachers have had their creativity and autonomy strangled with requirements and testing. But I bet the experienced, highly regarded teachers have figured out ways to negate this Strangle System. Is the trifecta still possible? I bet it is, but harder now.
So why do standardized tests dominate our system? Easy. Because it’s easy. And because “same for all” is viewed as “equal for all.” It’s our rickety, industrialized, assembly line school system promoted by big business to prepare their worker bees, now being laid off in droves!
Grading accurately means grades would first be based on effort and growth. High achievement is important, but it is the byproduct. Our sole focus on test achievement is what causes more students than ever to throw in the towel by high school.
Grading effort and participation are more subjective and much harder, so having open, positive relations with students and parents is step one. When students understood their grade, saw that it was fair, and felt seen and heard, parent complaints evaporated. It was hard, but doable in large band classes. So why not in regular size classes?
Elementary teachers already grade this way, because it works; it’s fair, it’s more accurate, and it motivates engagement and achievement. So why don’t our middle and high schools do this? Because the sole, assembly line focus is achievement, not participation. It must be both. When only test scores count, students lose. We all lose.
Ron Friesen is a Marysville resident, a retired music teacher and community and church musician and is committed to community improvement.
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