Taking Classes for Grades.

I just read this essay from the Chronicle by "The Shadow Scholar." (Dramatic, I know.) I'm thinking a lot about it.

1)  I know these people, who just want grades, not to learn anything.
2)  I know these people, who would do this.
3)  Dammit.  I know these people.

3a)  I bet the "Shadow Scholar" totally looks like this.

Besides my obvious, and familiar (Grr, I know these guys!) outrage,  there is kind of an underlying thought.

We, students, are not doing enough.  Its really that simple.  I remember in my freshman (sophomore?) year of college I was supposed to write an assignment for my American Lit class that would essentially be a proposal for a chapter to be included for an anthology.  I remember that I thought I should do it on humor (Ammurican humor), but do I remember what my argument was?  Do I remember what my proposal's main points were?  Do I even remember what short stories or essays I picked?

Nope, I sure don't.

Because I was doing it for a grade.  Sure I learned a lot in that class, and it was one of my favorite lit classes, but that assignment didn't mean crap to me.  It was a grade.

There's also a corollary to student's efforts, and that's this: Teachers Don't Let Students Do Enough.  Our Shadowy friend mentions that when he tried to get his independent study, an attempt  to get his novel published, approved, his faculty just sort of ignored it and made him return to his traditional classes.  Does publishing a novel have literary merit as part of an English program?  Undoubtedly, but when his interests were declined, he stopped going to class, and started writing papers for others' assignments.  He lost faith in the system.

In most of my education classes, I've been taught to use multiple learning strategies to encourage your student's personal involvement, but I've heard it in a lecture in every one of them.  The only class that's required me to actually do it was my class for special education students. 

Student engagement has been a tag for just about all of my posts on this blog.  Because it is that important.  Its the difference between enjoying something and learning it, or just doing it for a grade.  Flexibility is key in Learning.  and Technology is key in Flexibility.  Use any and all tools available to encourage your students to create something their proud of, not just chase a grade.

Photo exists in the Public Domain, taken from TheChive.com.