Grading children in conventional schooling systems I believe is an integral part of appropriate placement. This helps the child in most cases to "fit in" comfortably with their peers who are more-or-less by average at their own level. Grading really is it seems the only way to achieve this goal in knowing "where" to place children so they obtain the maximum benefit from their learning experiences. By the same token however, this I do not feel should be seen as a way in determining the child's academic and/or creative levels of intelligence. For example, a child who may not do so well in the classroom with book and pen may excel far beyond his or her peers in "hands-on" construction type activities. From my personal experiences I have seen only too well the damage a School Report using a Grading system can do, whereby, the parent or guardian sees the Report as the beginning and end of their child's abilities. After-all, Mathematics, English & Science primarily are not what makes up our entire world. Let's for example, look at a child who may have low grading and yet can play music without lessons and or a book to follow along in tune. Can we say that either one is better than the other? I do not believe so, since our world is made up of so much more.

In essence therefore, I believe the Grading system should be used by Teacher's only in knowing the next class or level of work the child would be best suited. I do not however, feel these School Reports should ever be sent home for the parents or guardians to read and in most cases assume themselves their child's capabilities, especially where their child's Rank position in the Class Placement is made available. Furthermore, School Reporting systems more often than not causes parent/child conflicts and often strips the child of self-confidence and self esteem where low Grades are reported. In these common and frequent situations their "hands-on" achievements go largely ignored and unrecognized and thus obviously having a long term detrimental impact on the child's personal and academic future where self-worth, ability and skill may henceforth begin to deteriorate and may send the child on a path of self-destruction.

Every single living human being I believe is of worth to themselves and other's in some area and their contributions to the family unit, community and world at large must be recognized early in their school life so as to encourage and maximize their potential for the benefit of themselves and society in the future as opposed to so many still today believing that only "academic" Grading is the way to see through a child's real strengths which may very well lay only in "hands-on" genius achievements. If we are to see our world advance, I believe we must let go of older style values especially in the area of education philosophies which I believe are far too slow for change in a world that is already racing way ahead of it's time and seemingly leaving the most important factor of the future out of the equation that being "creativity" and the many wonders we have seen born from it through the centuries.

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