Dear Friends,
Daily commuting on foot, in the bitter cold, and writing report cards so soon after progress reports, make me wonder about my life choices!
Had I not expanded my horizons and moved into a larger unit in a building with swimming pool, (that I've not used in a long time), I could've retired!
As the Sunday-evening blues are settling in, I get up to gather dozens of work samples, scattered on every surface of my "roomy" apartment. I've spent the weekend agonizing over my students' academic skills. Does little Johnny compute at a 'B' or a 'B-' level? Does Suzy merit an 'A' for Writing, or shall I leave her at 'B+,' or bump her up to an 'A-'? And, does little Sammy really deserve a 'D+' in Reading?
I can easily write about my students, effortlessly describing what they do and recounting what they say. However, I struggle over giving marks or checking qualitative boxes.
I remember while ago, on Oprah’s Life Classes (naturally), I heard Iyanla, a spiritual life-coach, say to the audience that comparison is an act of violence. I must admit, since we mostly compare upwards and end up feeling bad, (like me comparing myself to Jennifer Lopez), her statement kind of sat on my heart, as we say in Farsi.
Tonight, as I'm shoving the overly revisited papers into plastic bags to take back to work, to justify the given marks, I feel a bit “fraudish.” In my heart, I believe assessing young children against a “norm,” no matter how well standardized, is robbing them of their individuality - three times a year!
Alas! Reality, Spirituality and the Education System, are not cut from the same cloth - accepted and filed! I am a hypocrite - accepted and filed!
What have you accepted and filed today?
Had I not expanded my horizons and moved into a larger unit in a building with swimming pool, (that I've not used in a long time), I could've retired!
As the Sunday-evening blues are settling in, I get up to gather dozens of work samples, scattered on every surface of my "roomy" apartment. I've spent the weekend agonizing over my students' academic skills. Does little Johnny compute at a 'B' or a 'B-' level? Does Suzy merit an 'A' for Writing, or shall I leave her at 'B+,' or bump her up to an 'A-'? And, does little Sammy really deserve a 'D+' in Reading?
I can easily write about my students, effortlessly describing what they do and recounting what they say. However, I struggle over giving marks or checking qualitative boxes.
I remember while ago, on Oprah’s Life Classes (naturally), I heard Iyanla, a spiritual life-coach, say to the audience that comparison is an act of violence. I must admit, since we mostly compare upwards and end up feeling bad, (like me comparing myself to Jennifer Lopez), her statement kind of sat on my heart, as we say in Farsi.
Tonight, as I'm shoving the overly revisited papers into plastic bags to take back to work, to justify the given marks, I feel a bit “fraudish.” In my heart, I believe assessing young children against a “norm,” no matter how well standardized, is robbing them of their individuality - three times a year!
Alas! Reality, Spirituality and the Education System, are not cut from the same cloth - accepted and filed! I am a hypocrite - accepted and filed!
What have you accepted and filed today?
P.S. Perhaps, I misunderstood Iyanla. Self-comparison is an act of violence, not rushing children out of their developmental stages to meet certain expectations!
No comments:
Post a Comment