Chapter 2: Gradebook Explosion

Some people say that life is a game. Would you agree? What about school? Is school a game? I believe it is. My teacher, who shall remain original-nameless (which means that I reserve the right to change his name in this blog in order to protect his identity. I'm sure he would appreciate that.), posted a video somewhere about "blowing up the gradebook". He talks about various aspects of our education system and why it should change.

He talks about how homework and due dates should be eliminated. Now, as a prospective music teacher, I must redefine homework and due dates, because it will be necessary for me to utilize them. Therefore, in my music classes "homework" is hereby defined as practicing for a set amount of time each day. "Due dates" are hereby defined as performance dates. Side note: there is a rule attached to performance dates, which is that if you miss a performance, you automatically fail the class (extenuating circumstances will be discussed with the teacher). Having said that, we are moving on.

Now in this aforementioned video, student choice is also addressed. My interpretation of student choice has to do with a couple of principles I learned in educational psychology. Situational interest is very important to student choice. If a student is interested in a subject, they are more likely to study it. Because it is something they want to learn, they are more likely to succeed in that subject. Also, if a student employs self-regulation, he or she will do everything in their power to learn what they can on their own, and the teacher then fills more the role of mentor and guide than instructor. I once had a piano teacher tell me that she would rather teach adults than children, because adults actually want to learn, so they will put in the necessary time and effort. Young children, are quite the opposite (they realize later, of course, how wrong they were) because they are not as willing to put the time and effort into the learning experience for some reason.

Albert Einstein once said, "Everybody is a genius. But, if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it'll spend its whole life believing that it is stupid."
This photo (copied from  http://imgur.com/gallery/B5TgS) describes the education system of today. So, for fairness and equity in the classroom, I believe different things have to be taken into account, such as educational background, abilities/talents the student possesses walking into the classroom for the first time, and possibly home and family situations. All of these things may affect how a student takes tests. Side note: tests are cruel ways to make a student feel inferior. I believe that "assessment" is a more accurate term. What are you actually doing when you give a test? You are assessing not only the student's understanding of principles taught, but also your ability as a teacher to correctly convey that principle. Because students are different, they will be assessed slightly differently, and because you connect differently to each student, your teaching ability assessment will also vary.

So in conclusion to this very long post, my teacher is right. School is a game (or should be), so it's up to us as teachers to change the way the game is played to create as many successful winners (students) as possible. Granted, every teacher will have his or her own 'winning conditions', but the game is the same. So go out and enjoy it while it lasts!