Interestingly, chapter 3 of The Art of Possibility has my favorite ideas and a quote that made me roll my eyes and gag a little. The quote that I didn't like was, "This A is not an expectation to live up to, but a possibility to live into" (pg. 26). I hate quotes like this. I know that they are meant to be inspirational and all that, but, really--gag. That said, I love the idea of giving an A. I don't know if I'd get away with that, but I would love to at least set up the hypothetical and talk to my students about what it would look like. I love the letter writing idea, where they have to look at what they did to receive the A. I think grades have been so inflated in this day and age. I have students (and their parents!) tell me all the time that they "need" to get an A. Some of them are genuinely not capable. They can grow and they can advance, but an A is not really in their league--if we are saying an A is the highest achievement or the highest standard. I am fascinated to see what my students would say is necessary to achieve an A and how they went about earning it. I've been talking to them all year so far about goals and how they define success. I asked them to write their own definition of success and encouraged them to share it with their parents and discuss it. This year we used a graphic by Jim Burke (see below) and talked about the various aspects and foundations of success. I am definitely going to find a way to give them all an A, even if it is only for a day, and see what I hear them say.
Zander, R. & Zander, B. (2000). The art of possibility. New York: Penguin.
posted by amy white at 10:10 pm
1 comments:
jojoteach1109 said...
Amy, I completely understand your issue with that quote. I teach in a high-achieving school in which student, parent, and administrative expectations are that all students receive A's and B's. Quite simply, I teach intensive reading (a below grade level course) and I still have students not earning A's and B's. Not all students are A-ability students, but many can be A-effort students. I am always stuck in this dilemma and I feel bad when I conference with the students that I know are trying their personal best, yet achieving less than others that don't put any extra effort into anything. Your statement about "an A is the highest achievement or highest standard", made me think. How is the highest achievement or highest standard measured? Is it that individual's highest achieving point or the "norm/average" highest achieving point?
The Foundation of Success graphic is great! I think I'm going to borrow this to use with my students. Thanks Amy.
October 17, 2009 8:22 AM
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