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| students get an A |
"Give them an A", or so says the authors of the Art of Possibility by Roz and Benjamin Zander. As a High School English teacher, I'm sure my students would surely welcome this chapter! At first, the notion seems unrealistic. Zander gives excellent examples of how his music students set personal goals of what that "A" would require of them. I then thought of doing the same with my students, but then something came to my mind that the chapter didn't quite address. I mentally walked through the process. Tell the students to write a letter of what it would require of them to get the "A". They could list study habits, strengths, and measurable objectives. Time would pass. No homework turned in. Student fails the reading tests. Time to bring out the letter they wrote, so long ago. I sit with them and remind them of the commitment they had made. More time passes. Still, no improvement. Don't they feel guilty for not measuring up to the letter they wrote? Then I took this scenario and multiplied it times 75, which would be the average number of students who would need "the talk". Mission failure. See, I believed that this "give an A" method would only work with highly motivated gifted students, such as those musical geniuses under Zander's tutelage.
And then it hit me. I finally got it.
In fact, as Chapter 1 illustrates, everything was just a matter of perspective. The reason the "A" wouldn't work is because I was stuck in the old behaviorist paradigm, where a system of punishments and rewards was the only way to measure and to motivate students. I needed to look at things from a fresh perspective. I began to understand that the "A" represented the best that students had to offer of themselves. It represented not a system of measurement, but rather, a celebration of ability. In that regard, I thought about project-based learning. I thought about the stories my students were writing and how each story was a reflection of their own minds and spirits. To me, that is differentiation. That is celebration. And in fact, most students earned that "A", because what it stood for had changed.
images from Microsoft images
I love your thoughts and perspective on the reading and your understanding of what the authors were trying to relay. When I was in high school one of my teachers tried this very thing, funny, If I remember correctly it was my English teacher but she stated it where we had to work on keeping that A. Most of the class achieved that but being accountable for our assignments, turning it in on time and just trying our best. She gave us the opportunity to ask questions for things that we did not understand or to clarify assignments on the other hand, those that took advantage of the situation and did not turn in the assignments the end result was loosing that A.
ReplyDeleteThinking back at the situation, I am trying to determine if that was just to motivate/punish us or if it were truly giving us the opportunity to come into ourselves and understand the true meaning of responsibility
Michael,
ReplyDeleteI chuckled as I began reading your blog post, because I could see my Art students doing the same thing. Even now I have several that are going to fail my class because they have done very few assignments over the last semester. I think you make a great point about project based learning and creative writing because it gives students a chance to really shine and show their strengths. I’m still processing the giving the A idea too, because well I teach mostly project driven classes, with a mix of small assignments, writing and reflection, since it’s Art I, II, III, IV or Crafts. I differentiate my instruction just the way you were talking about, by looking at what the students are doing on an individual basis rather than comparing them to the group. But then how do you not give someone an F, when they come to your class and talk or goof off all period and only occasionally submit any work?