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.
