To pay extra attention to if children is lacking behind in school I think is a very good idea. If they get special help in early stages there is a bigger chance for them to catch up with their fellow classmates and be spared of the risk to have to redo one grade. Why you have to get grades earlier is out of my understanding though. I would think the most important thing for the children would be just to do good in school and to keep up with what is reasonable to know at that age. I think grades can build you up to some level but in sixth grade it is more likely that it will break you down.
In eight grade I got my first report card and I can't seem to miss not to have got it earlier. The step between seventh and eight grade was very big to me and you felt kind of lost the first year in a new school with new systems of learning. Before this I didn't need to take notes during classes for example, and the new ways of working with assignments took some time to adjust to. Then when I started eight grade I had learned how things in this new world worked and it became much easier to concentrate on the significant things in school when you didn't walk around all insecure. I feel that it was great to get the extra preparation year before you get judged in every single thing you do. In a way it may be good for your self-esteem not to have the pressure of performing the best during that first year in a new school.
Now they want to start with grades as early as in sixth grade and I feel doubtful that it is a good plan. Even though every individual is different and I'm sure many would do fine with getting graded this early, many other children wouldn't do as good. Around the years when a child is 12 (as in sixth grade) and 14 (as in eight grade) many things change in their lives. They get new friends, start growing into a new person and become more and more curious about life. It is a time when many thing happen and they find out things they didn't know before. Besides the desire to do well in school the society we live in today puts a lot of pressure on everyone of us. You should look good, dress well and have all the latest technique like an mp3 and the newest cellphone. At least this can seem important to a teenager. I don't think you are ready to get the kind of pressure grading puts on you earlier than we get at the moment. Children are too confused and insecure at this age. To get extra demands from school in excess of the ones society requires, it can get a bit overwhelming.
Depending on your background and your values, education can be variously important. In my case I've always been eager to learn and to do well in school. This have lead to a lot of stress on my behalf. I have taken it very hard when I haven't gotten the best result on a test or in a subject and this has followed me all the way to my last year in upper secondary school. I still push myself to do the best I can in every situation but I have started to acknowledge that you can't be the best at everything. If I still feel this pressure as an “almost adult”, why wouldn't a child be able to. And stress is not good for anyone and surely not for a child. This is one of the main reasons why I think you should postpone grading as far as possible.
Of course there is nothing saying that children would deal with stress any worse than an adult, and maybe they cope with it even better. It may even be a good thing to get grades earlier so you in that way get prepared for harder assignments that will occur in the future. It could be a good thing so that you don't get a chock later in life. But still, my belief is that it only puts more pressure on you. I'm no expert but I think that is what my own reaction would be to the situation. We will have to see what happens. Sadly people get more and more stressed by each day and the question is if this won't just feed the problem.
To conclude I would like to say that I think children need the extra time I had between sixth and eight grade so that they can prepare and grow a bit more as a person to be able to deal with what setbacks or stress they may bump in to on their way through life. School is an significant part of it and in many ways that time of life is what prepares us for the rest. Therefore it is so important that we get the best out of it as we possible can.
Prenumerera på:
Kommentarer till inlägget (Atom)
Content and structure:
SvaraRaderaI found your text very convincing. Your introduction is very balanced and ends in a clear, precise thesis statement. You could work a bit more on topic sentences, though, for example in your third paragraph ("Now they want to start with...").
Language:
Generally good, but there are some awkward turns of phrase and unnecessary errors.
-Make sure not to confuse "a" and "an".
-Make sure not to confuse adjectives and adverbs (for example "possible"/"possibly" in the conclusion).
-Careful with subject-verb agreement! This is very important.
Keep it up!
/Teacher
First of all I want to say that I enjoyed reading your blog this week and that the assignment is well done. Of course I try to give you some deeper hints.
SvaraRaderaStructure:
You made no formal mistakes. Nevertheless, your text is well structured and every paragraph reflects a new idea. Your thesis statement is also very clear and you give a good conclusion after mentioning important points in your text.
Content:
I think you mentioned a lot of important points concerning grading. Especially, it is good that you describe your personal relations to the school system. Therewith, the reader gets a explicit impression of the way how you have experienced school. For me it was really interesting because I could connect your thoughts and experiences to mine. To go more into detail, you have emphasised well the problem concerning to grading in seventh class, because you were not used to it before and that is has been easier for you in your later school life. Related to this, you argued well by showing the problems with early grading and note pros and cons due to this topic.
Language:
There are not many mistakes, but I think you can perhaps use more transitions in your text. You should also pay attention concerning the word order. In the following, I want to make some language suggestions:
Paragraph1: I would think the most important thing for the children would be just to do WELL (instead of good) in school […]
Paragraph 2: I think it is better to say “In the eight CLASS/YEAR” than grade
Paragraph 3: It is a time when many THINKS (instead of thing) happen
Paragraph 4: This HAS (instead of have) lead to a lot of stress on my behalf.
Paragraph 6: School is a (instead of an) significant part […]
Therefore it is so important that we get the best out of it as we possibly (instead of possibly) can
Kind regards,
Henrik