Tell me!

TELL ME what your grading practices say.

TELL ME what they say to the student who gets up at 4 am and rides a bus for close to two hours to get to a goo犀利士5mg d school.

TELL ME what they say to the student who works a Job when they are not in school to help make ends meet.

TELL ME what they say to the kid whose parent is busy with “other stuff” and the fridge is empty.

TELL ME what they say to the kid who looks picture perfect on the outside package but is riddled with anxiety.

TELL ME what they say to the kid who is trying to desperately figure out who they are and how they fit into this world.

TELL ME what they say to the kid who has no one to advocate for them.

TELL ME what they say…

Do they say that you care, are compassionate and show grace?

Do they say that you are data and policy driven and that they are just a line in your grade book?

Do they say that you may not get them to learn your subject matter, but you will certainly teach them life lessons that will teach them that this world is cold and hard and uncaring?

Do they say that you work to create a fair and even playing field as often as possible?

Do they say what the student has actually achieved or simply what they have scored?

Do they say that you see each child as a part of the collective whole as well as an individual?

Do they say that you are caught up in archaic and ineffective practices that were used when you were a student and so now you use them?

Do they say that you don’t grade for the sake of grading but with a clear and thoughtful purpose?

Do they say that the student may have done the work befitting one grade and yet receive another for making errors that have nothing to do with what you are charged with assessing?

Do they say that your assessments highlight achievement or errors?

TELL ME what they say.

I am not there. I have not arrived. I wrestle with these questions daily…but I continue to wrestle. I will continue to wrestle because THIS matters and I NEED to do better. We all NEED to do BETTER.