Harmful

by Brazen Teacher

Created on: July 12, 2007

Since Alex Osborn of the advertising agency Batten, Barton, Durstine and Osborn came up with the idea of brainstorming in the late 1930's, education has been trying to wed creativity with learning. Unfortunately, the very nature of education tends to stifle creativity; as the very competition for grades it fosters, establishes one of the biggest blocks: THE FEAR OF MAKING A MISTAKE.

Why do we grade? Why do we reduce the roamings of child's mind to a letter? A plus or minus? A check? There are a host of reasons, but we do it largely, because we believe that children need an incentive to learn. We believe that if they are given a reward for learning, they will work harder and therefore do better. We also believe that if they are punished for not learning (or maybe just not performing) then they will also work harder to avoid the bad grade next time. We believe as children compete for grades, it will foster in them the desire to be the best they can be.

My first year of teaching Elementary Art I had a fourth grader named Talon- a unique name, for an even more unique little girl. She wore these outrageous red sequined shoes like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, and had an array of skin-tight stretch pants that she alternated with different crazy shirts.

My first week of school I told my students that one of the rules in my classroom was they had to bring me a present each week. Jaws dropped, hands shot up- I will never forget it. This quickly led us into a discussion on rules and fairness. We decided to come up with our own class rules together. Needless to say, my rule about teacher presents was left off the list. However, each week from then on Talon would come into my room and give me a hug- "Here is your present." Needless to say, this created a soft place in my heart for this tender little girl.

In spite of her tenderness, Talon didn't do well in school. She actually quite stunk at it. This isn't a judgment on her character. She was the poster child for emotional intelligence. She danced in the hallways; she smiled all the time, and talked to everybody. She was also a phenomenal artist. But when it came to reading, writing and arithmetic she was at the bottom of her class.

Her parents were quite involved, as were her teachers. Talon was tested and re-tested. She was part of study groups. Every learning technique available was employed to help this little girl learn. And she did. She did learn and managed to keep up with her class. However the result of all this attention on her success in school proved to be problematic, because she was terrified to make a mistake.

Since Talon was a naturally creative person, my class wasn't scary for her- and we avoided confrontation in the beginning. But around Christmas time we began doing self-portraits and that all changed.

I anticipated this of course. All of my students were scared of this project. Drawing is scary. Drawing yourself is even scarier. I was prepared. We had long class discussions before even picking up a pencil about risk taking, and making tons of mistakes. We talked about learning from failure. We even did art experiments to see who could come up with the craziest solutions by risk taking. By the end all my students were drooling to get started. Except Talon.

She was passive at first. Head down, pencil on the table. Then she got teary-eyed. She begged, pleaded, and then just refused to do it. I will remember the words she repeated to me over and over. "I just can't. I'm not any good at that." No elaborate excuses. Just that one reason, repeated again and again.

I was gentle, then firm, then frustrated. This amazing girl- who got A's on everything she did in my class- was absolutely refusing to try. She decided she would take a zero rather than risk failure. I was dumb-founded. I remember thinking- I am failing this girl.

I would like to tell you the story ended well. It ended with a note to her parents granting Talon time to finish it at home. She brought it back one week later grinning ear to ear. It was a beautiful drawing. And a child did absolutely not do it. I didn't question it. I was exhausted of it actually. I don't remember her grade. But I will always remember her.

Was Talon a unique case? Yes and no. Most fourth graders are willing to try. However I have yet to meet a fourth grader that hasn't crumpled from frustration at some point in my class, and then repeated Talon's sentiments: "I just can't." When what they really mean is: "I'm scared."

There are two big arguments I have heard from individuals who support this kind of competitive learning. The first sounds something like: "I had to compete for grades, and I learned!" Perhaps this is true. I would like to point out that punching a person in the face and grabbing their wallet is a way to make money. Does it mean it is a good way? This is a myth that has caused so many problems for our world. Because we did it this way, so should our children.

I don't believe the ends justify the means when it comes to competition in schools. Will the damage we do to children be as visible as a punch in the face? No. It's the kind you cannot see. Fear. Will kids become unglued by this fear? Absolutely not. Humans are adaptable. They will learn to believe that being afraid of failure is natural. When reinforced by the competitive nature of their education everyday- they will learn not to question it. Taking a Risk = Potential Failure; Failure = Bad.

If an adult doesn't use the "it worked for me" debate- they will often become concerned over other claims like: "If we take away competition, how will they be motivated? They'll all just slack off in your feel good do whatever you want' atmosphere." Ah yes, we better watch out, or our children will run rampant on the streets without report cards to keep them in check. On the contrary- there are hundreds of scientific studies that prove this is completely backwards. This isn't just a pissed of teacher ranting now. I am talking about many child psychologists who have proven that internal motivation blows external out of the water any day of the week.

Have you ever heard a preschooler say- "I can't wait to go home, I hate school?" Very rarely will you hear that. I've never heard it, and I used to teach preschool. But for the sake of argument, let's avoid making bold statements. It could happen- but it isn't likely. Preschoolers LOVE learning. They will dive into block counting, book reading, and marble sorting with a fierce sort of passion. I dare you to debate me on this one.

Children are born with an irrefutable natural love of learning. We don't give infants a letter grade when they sit up for the first time for crying out loud. Or when they begin to crawl, and stand. We are literally handed veracious, passionate learners from birth and we recondition them. This explains why many very intelligent kids don't play the school game very well. They hate being graded by how they perform. They see the flaws in the system better than many of us.
My final sentiment before ending this exhaustingly long essay is this: How will we know until we try it? Some insist competition fosters learning best, yet cannot name one instance where a public school actually tried a non-competitive atmosphere. What if children COULD learn equally well without grading, contests, stars and stickers? Don't we owe it to them to test the theory more fully? I think testing the theory is too big of a risk for people. Risk = Potential Failure and Failure = Bad. If someone decided to be brave and try- and it didn't "work" then those who tested it would be labeled as incompetent. No one wants to be labeled that way. It's a hamster wheel we are in isn't it?

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