Changing value system in school

[PepperBlossoms]

School places emphasis on making all A's and so it tells students that all they have to do is make As and they do that by being complete and correct based on what the teacher thinks is complete and correct.

Eliminate grades and let the child pick their own value system.  The current system has the top students thinking they are "smart" because they made A's.  If grades don't exist, students can focus on their own values- learning, asking questions, having fun, forming friendships.

Learning shouldn't be dreadful, over-work, right, wrong, incomplete, etc.  

Let students get their own values.

You can't make students value grades as it doesn't work - kids quit trying.

Edited July 6, 2020 by PepperBlossoms

[Boethius]

@PepperBlossoms The gamification of learning seems to be pretty effective. And as a college professor myself, I will say that students seem to value getting a good grade above all else (even above meaningful learning, unfortunately).

That said, I do think schools should get better at incentivizing students beyond just a letter (A, B, C, D, F, W) that they receive at the end. I've tried this with making "interesting" assignments and giving students some choice over what they can do to receive course credit. Unfortunately this

(a) requires a LOT of work on my end and
(b) is difficult to mesh with a system that is by design about credentially students and providing an arena for competition (where a student with a 3.9 is more likely to get a job than a student with a 2.5, let's say)

[Artsu]

I'm less concerned with the use of grades, and more concerned with the lack of truly educational classes.

[Boethius]

@Artsu Same. We probably need an educational overhaul, quite honestly, since our current system too often takes a diminished view of what it means to become "educated".

[Epikur]

4 minutes ago, Boethius said:

@Artsu Same. We probably need an educational overhaul, quite honestly, since our current system too often takes a diminished view of what it means to become "educated".

It's why the buddhist say that living is suffering:

We and the kids don't want to work because it's not fun. If we do it mostly
we become sad.

If we go for fun our life turns to a mess. 

Yes gamification seems to be a shortcut. I kept my eye on it. There are good apps that get better. At the same time real games get much more fun so the distraction gets bigger.