90 89 84 91 87. . .(typing) 💻
It's this time of the year again when teachers like me focus solely on computing and evaluating students' grades. And if you happen to disturb us even just simply asking questions amidst our work, in response we will bark and growl at you! ( Arrrfff! Grrrr! Arrrgggfff!) Lol! Oops, don't get us wrong.
Personally, this is the time, when I gather all my concentration. I need to focus, much further, I need to be fair, firm, and efficient in giving grades.
Will I be too considerate (since we are in a pandemic)? Shall I be too strict? This and that . . .Aha! All I need to do is be honest in giving grades! And Honesty will make me an effective teacher. These are the thoughts that keep running on my mind while I am seriously computing the grades, not to say that my eyes are a little sore already. I have been looking at my laptop the whole day!!! Until . . ,
"Maam Smile, Maam! " A student interrupted.
"Yes, How may I help you"?,
"Oh-oh, I forgot to bark! Aarrrggffff!
With a pitiful face, the student continued,
"Maam could you please change my grades on the first semester. It's a little low Maam, and I need to get higher grades because I bla. Bla. bla. Bla".
"Sosmaryusep! Change?. I was giving you the grade that you deserve. Grades that reciprocate your efforts and outputs. And you kid, since you have a plan/goals like this, then why haven't you performed well at the very beginning in the first place?! And then you ask me to change your grades! Like your target is 90 but you are giving me some 75-80ish performances! You think this is a joke!" Aaa- arrrgggfff! Arrrgggfff! Arrrgggfff! These are my mind's litany (left unsaid)😅 Thank God I was able to manage and compose myself.
Grades! What is a Grade? And How important these grades are to the Grade12, Senior High students.
Grades, according to the Oxford Dictionary, is a mark indicating the quality of the student's works. So if you have High grades means you are doing well in class.
In DepEd, grades are the numerical interpretation of students' achievement in academics. Or these grades serve as a reward to students, like, 90-94, the student will be awarded as 'With Honors', for 95-97, With High Honors, and 98-100 with Highest Honors or the Gold achiever. These for sure will give pride and honor to the respective parents.
Moreover, and the most important is, having these good grades, shall I say high grades give the students the privilege to be an academic scholar at their chosen university or colleges. This also gives them the chance to apply for different scholarships both public and private as High grades are the very first requirement on the list. And What's more? They can now pursue college for FREE and with allowances and benefits.
But how about those students who couldn't get 90 and above,? those poor-performing students in the academe whose hopes and dreams to go to college for free are too far from reality?
Will you end their hope and kill that fire burning within them? Or will you compromise your credibility as a teacher and just give them high grades (for the sake of helping them) so that they can be admitted to college for free? And this is where the battle begins.
A year ago or two, President Rodrigo Duterte implemented the FREE education for all college students in State Universities/Colleges. With this program, students can now access college and take the course they want for free! Truly a great help to students who dream of having a successful future.
https://philippinescities.com/blog/list-of-free-tuition-philippines-universities-and-colleges/
But all of these are only possible, IF AND ONLY IF, students will not get a grade below 85 in all/her subject areas during Senior High School years. They must get 85 or above in all subjects to avail this Golden opportunity. Of course, all students want to grab this chance, who would not want to? Right?
So, let's put this as simple as it is, if you, a teacher happen to give below 85 it means, you are putting an end to a child's dream to go to college for free. You are depriving the student of a chance to study at college for free!
(Long pause, and thinking 🤔)
"Ang hirap nuh?"
**Are you willing to compromise your credibility as a teacher for the sake of helping a student.? When is helping not good, and when it is good not to help? **
Are grades an indicator of success?
While these are the descriptor and the indicator of the Grades set by the system, which gives pressure and worries on both students and the teacher, let's take a look at these successful people who failed in school yet are very successful in life.
- Steve Jobs
The Apple co-founder "may ... be one of the most famous dropouts in history," per Reed College, the liberal arts school in Oregon which Steve Jobs left after just one semester. ("I ran out of money," Jobs explained in a 1991 commencement speech at the school.)
- Bill Gates
Bill Gates is known as Harvard’s most successful dropout. Gates dropped out of Harvard after only two years and became one of the wealthiest men in the world after founding Microsoft with his childhood friend, Paul Allen. Over 30 years later, Gates returned to Harvard and received his degree (an honorary doctorate) in 2007.
- Mark Zuckerberg
During his time at Harvard, Mark Zuckerberg locked himself in his dorm room to found the world’s most popular social networking site—Facebook. Zuckerberg left Harvard once the site exploded in popularity and relocated to Palo Alto. He is now the youngest billionaire in the world with an estimated net worth of $4 billion.
These are just a few individuals who are successful in life but they failed in school, and the list continues to Walt Disney, Oprah Winfrey, JK Rowling, and so on who failed first in school before their major success in life. They are the living example, the proof, that in life, grades are not the indicator of success.
Yes achieving good grades is a common desire for students, but a research study conducted in 2016, shows that making good grades is not the only factor in determining one's success that character and personality predict more accurately than all other factors.
YES, grades play a pivotal role in our current educational paradigm but grades aren't the only factor. It is your SKILL, GOOD WORK HABITS, POSITIVE MENTAL ATTITUDE, CREATIVITY, AND CHARACTER (SELF-DISCIPLINE).
"Maam, Maam, Maam Smile". Will you change my grades Maam?
I took a deep sigh. And look my student in the eye.
So unsa man jud Ang tubag mam @callmesmile ? Hahahaha
Teaching is one of the most difficult jobs in the world gyud.
Ginhawa ug lawm rjd ghapon ta ani @missleray .😁.,
Ahahahahahahah
Great article and yes indeed, I agree! Grades are important but they are definitely not an indicator of success. 🏅✨
Ka hanging ba sa story mam. Di sad ta katog ani 😂.
To be continued Maam @bluepark , I still need to think and weigh what's best jd .☺️😅
My parents couldn't afford to pay for expensive college education back in the day so getting good grades was vital for me to send myself to college and yes, to a better future. Without acing my high school, I would've not made it to the top university in the country where tuition fee was free with an allowance.
In the end, good grades is not everything but it is a stepping stone. Now that I'm out in the real world, the same traits that helped me get those flat 1s are the same set of traits required to thrive in an ever-challenging environment. Traits such as persistence, hardwork, patience, and most importantly, grit!
I believe students should work for what they want, not ask as if everything comes for free. After all, they go to school to learn. I just wish that more than knowledge, life skills will also be incorporated into our educational system. I believe the current K-12 is slowly addressing that.
Great read @callmesmile! Keep it coming. 😁
You must be the Valedictorian in your class @patsitivity !. Cool 😍.
BEC Curriculum is quite different from the K-12Curriculum now, Before, in our time, there were only top 3 in the class, and only the Valedictorian could avail of the full scholarship offered by the different universities (correct me if I'm wrong). But now, as long as you obtain 85 you can study to state colleges for free. The problem is, students are taking advantage of this (except for the top students), they ask for grades as if they are asking for candies. They just view grades as plane numbers and not the learnings and hardships behind it. (referring to the average students).
I need to @callmesmile. Else, I'd end up as out-of-school youth. But I'd always highlight that I'm not smart, I'm just harworking. Hehe I guess I just had to accept that we're poor and the only way out is to strive harder each day. I hope students learn first in their homes that if they want something, they need to put in all the effort.
You're doing great as a teacher @callmesmile! 🥰
Quantifying to totality of the learning and the learning process is pointless in real world cases.
It is a vague clue of the potential of every students.
Just a clue.
Your right @guruvaj. But students wont realize this at this stage. For them Grades are as much as important to their success in the future, especially that this serves as the passport upon entry on college. Maybe when they are matured and already facing the real battle of life, they will realize that its their potential, skills and character (their quality) that matters and not the quantity.
Thank you @guruvaj , I learned something from your comment.🥰
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Grades are important academic wise but honestly not much of a pathway to ones success or financial breakthrough. Also, when it comes to helping a student with grades, I think that would make the child not sit up in the coming term because he or she would believe that they can always talk you into helping then increase their grades which is not so good. I've learnt a lot from this publication. Thanks for sharing
Thanks @teknon your message motivates me to be honest and a just teacher especially in giving grades to my students. As much as I want to help them secure a spot on college, I should remain credible, and focus more on their learning and developing their lifeskills that are very useful in the real world.
Very true.. you're definitely good at your job. Any teacher that doesn't know all of these isn't a teacher by profession. Have a blissful day🥰.
Well said ma'am @callmesmile 🙌🏻 Saludo gyud ko sa teachers. Agree gyud ko, getting good grades are important factor but not the only thing that a student should run after kay sa real world lahi najud na battle. Success is not what we have, but who we become.🧡🤗 heard this sa mom ni bill gates.
Thank you @arkicarls. And I agree that success is who we become. Its the fruit of our hardwork, skills and creativity and not the grades jd.. Ky d jd magamit ang grades alon sa real life. Useless ang 96 and 95 oy, f naa nka sa challenges and tricks sa life. Dapat diskarte.😉
If you're to pass a student just because he/she was to get a scholarship, the student has to merit that grade but if by any means the student fails then his actual results should be given so he/she will know that he's not performing well in class, this alone will make him to want to do more and read his books.
What if after giving him a good grade and he gets the scholarship but he's unable to cope with school over there. At this point, the teacher that promoted him is to be blamed
@otuyanancy your message reminds me that I have to be always firm and honest in giving students' grade and that students must learn that grades are to be earned.
Thank you.🥰
You're welcome dear
Kudos sa mga teachers @callmesmile. Makaproud and yet sometimes ang mga teachers pa ang ma left behind sa govt yet maau na lang nabag.o japon na katong si PRRD na. So proud of you sa patience nimo sa tanang students 💜
Thank u @arlin19 . 😍. Teachers are hoping for an increase sa salary jd namu, coz aside that commodities are increasing, koot jd mi kaugalingon bulsa sa mga expenses sa amung room.😁., But nevertheless, satisfying kaau ang pg teach.😍
This was a very good read. Well grades are important if you are an academic i think it all depends on how well a person knows themselves if you know for sure what you are good at i think perfecting your skills and using that for the betterment of your self but if not your grades can be your only hope
Exactly @racequeen .😍. Students should better focus on lifeskills on which they are good at. coz only are a few excels in academics.