The Progressive Movement in Modern Education

Mark Twain once said, “I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.” Ostensibly, this quote could be perceived as a simple usage of Mark Twain’s very famous satire, showing his distaste for formal education. However, I believe Mr. Twain was proposing an idea which took many years to sprout in America.

“Education for its own sake” is a hot-button topic that is taking root in the full gamut of education from elementary to college classrooms. As the United States begins to move progressively forward, teachers and parents dually are beginning to shy away from the straight-laced and structured teaching style of the past; in a growing rate of schools across the county, teaching tactics are beginning to shift dramatically. Stereotypical lecture-style teaching strategies are changing noticeably to become “round-table” student oriented discussions, pop-quizzes are now essentially eradicated from most education, and teachers are beginning to relinquish control of the classroom as curriculum in modern schooling is becoming more independent. However, the focal point of the progressive teaching style movement is arguably the concept of removing grades from the classroom. As a high school student myself, I am enthusiastic about this shift forward in teaching style.

Teenage stress runs unknown, unchecked, and unassuaged in the modern day high school classroom. I know from personal experience that a desire to excel in education comes with sacrifice. While hard working students usually surrender social time, sleep, and some activities. However, a student with a drive to shine in the classroom gains an unbearable amount of stress. The same instances can be applied for most every teenager with a willingness to work hard. The underlying reason that drives this teenage anxiety, of course, is simply the abstract concept of grades.

Achieving a 4.0 grade point average was a goal that I set for myself as I entered my high school as a freshman. The appeal of the valedictorian honors was overpowering to my amygdala; thus, I worked diligently to achieve my goals. However, more often than not I have heard my peers exclaim their worry about not achieving their desired grades in their desired classes. Furthermore, a common sight in my school is students asking their teachers with tears in their eyes, “What can I do to get an ‘A’?” I firmly believe that this constant anxiety and obsession over the grade is a decadent system in place with modern education. While students are constantly worrying over the class with an undesirable grade, the class where the student has already achieved an “A” has begun to be neglected. Students are no longer looking at classes for an education when all that they are aiming for is a perfect grade point average.

The stress created by the intangible concept of a “grade” is truly a detrimental to the educational process. I firmly believe that the movement of “learning for the sake of learning”, with a focus on removing grades from school, is truly a commendable and impressive movement to impact modern education.