Grades

What is the purpose of grades?

The purpose of grades is to assess your abilities. It shows students how well they have performed and understood the recently learned concepts. It also shows how well they have been listening and paying attention. It not only shows us, but also our teachers as to where we need more assistance.

My opinion on the current grading system is that it seems fine to me. 100 as the maximum is a good idea because it makes it easier for grading. The letters idea is also pretty good. It helps you understand a little better as to what kind of grade you exactly grade. It helps you understand a little more as to what your strengths and weaknesses are.

I don't think that the current grading system shows your accurate knowledge and learning. It is fine, but there are still some places for improvement. For example, it depends on the teacher sometimes. Multiple choice gives accurate answers about a student's knowledge because it clearly shows how much they learned. Short answers are also okay. But, when it comes to writing prompts or essays, it depends on how a teacher interprets it. They might understand the question differently or the rubric.Also, grades don't always seem fair to me. For example, you might have failed at one subject in math, but you are really good at math in general. So, when they check your grades, they might put you in extra help math classes the next year, even though you already know what they are teaching you. In this world of education,  grades are everything. They tell you what classes you need to go to, what college you will get into, and a lot more!

In conclusion, I think that the grades should be a combination of both the current grading system and the standards-base grading system. It would help students more. They could use the current grading system for some assignments, and standard-based for certain other kinds of assignments.

Schools Killing Creativity

Recently, I watched Sir Ken Robinson's TED Talk. He talks about how schools are killing creativity which I think is very true. Some phrases he says are very agreeable. He makes some really good points throughout this talk. "My contention is that creativity now is as important in education as literacy and we should treat it with the same status." I agree with that. People should understand the importance of creativity. It is something that is very important in one's life. As people grow older, their sense of creativity gets lower and lower. So, childhood is when everyone should give importance to creativity. This is the only time where children can show their true creativity. Children aren't scared to be wrong. So, whatever creative they come up with, they show it to everyone and don't care about what the others say. "If you're not prepared to be wrong, you'll never come up with anything original." -Ken Robinson This quote is very true. You shouldn't be scared to show your answers. They show your creativity. How? Well, each person may come up with the answer to a question in a few different ways. Those ways are part of creativity. So, you should never be afraid to be wrong. In fact, you will learn more. "We are not educating kids into creativity, we are educating them out of it." -Ken Robinson This is also true. teachers are actually educating kids out of their creativity. That's how many adults aren't as creative. they have been taught to be creative, but not in the right way. The acceptable definition to creativity is production of something original. "The problem is to remain an artist as we grow up." -Ken Robinson (Many points he made/said are very true!) Picasso had said before that everyone is born an artist. That is true. But, the problem with that is, like Ken Robinson said, to keep that artistic ability within you, even as you grow older. But, schools don't give you that chance they kill creativity! So, many points that Ken had said are absolutely true. The reason we aren't as creative is because of our schools!

The Creativity Crisis

I have recently read an article on the creativity crisis from Newsweek. The article made some very good points. It is true that there is a creativity crisis going on now. Not all schools pay attention to creativity. In fact, barely any school pay any attention to creativity. They always tell you to be creative in projects, but, they never really appreciate your creativity. I personally think they should start paying more attention to childrens' creativity. There is no value to creativity these days! I think that there should be more classes about creativity than just art and (if there is rogate) ROGATE. Creativity is a very important skill that everyone has no matter who they are. It brings out there individuality and true self. I felt pretty after I read these sentences in the article: "After my answer was translated, they just started laughing out loud," Plucker says. "They said, 'You're racing toward our old model. But we're racing toward your model, as fast as we can.'" This is a great example that shows how many people don't care about a child's creativity. Another example from the article is: "Overwhelmed by curriculum standards, American teachers warn there's no room in the day fro a creativity class." Well, I think there should be and they should make a class that involves creativity that every student has everyday. It is a great way for children to express their thoughts and creativity and uniqueness. Creativity can be taught. Even professors say so. I thought it couldn't be taught. It is something that has to come from the children' own mind is what I thought. But, apparently, it can be taught. So, I think that creativity should be taught if it is possible!