Grades vs Learning
Mar 15, 2006
Author: Sherri Jones
In the past, I have received a few questions about keeping grades and how to do it. But the question begs another question in my mind. "Are grades really that important?" Let me explain.
It has been a natural thing for me, when I correct my children's papers to have them go back and correct the ones they missed. When they finish correcting their paper and I recheck it, it is then 100% right. So I use to ask myself, if I were to keep track of grades, would it be the uncorrected score or the corrected score? I came to the conclusion that it wasn't the grades that was crucial here, but the learning.
Do you remember back when you were in school, getting your math paper back? When you saw the math problems you missed, did you ever kick your self for missing a problem because of a hasty error on your part or missing some simply becuase you didn't understand the concept? This is exactly what our children go through. In our case, when we were in school, there was no going back and correcting that hasty error or recorrecting for a better grade. That was not possible. The teacher had to move on.
As homeschool parents we have the advantage of using these moments as teaching opportunities. We are in essence preparing our students for their annual testing. Because we are helping them learn through their mistakes, we are building confidence in them. Therefore they will be better prepared to take the test. We can help our students realize that they will not be able to do this in college, but they will, never-the-less, have a solid foundation adademically. They should be able to pass entry exams quite smoothly and when they are doing college studies, they will be able to do the work with confidence.
When my youngest son, who is currently attending the United States Military Academy at West Point, was in his 8th and 9th grades, he wanted me to give him extra school work on top of his core subjects. So that is what I did. Basically, I gave him some courses that would count toward his high school credits. This would have been cruel and unusual punishment for my other children, but it worked well for him. Consequently by the time he finished his 9th grade, he had enough credits to be a junior and eligible for the state funded Running Start Program for juniors and seniors. This program enables 11th and 12th graders to finish high school at the college and get college and high school credits at the same time. My son had to take an assessment test at the college. The test covered math and English and he scored college level for both subjects. This meant that he qualified for the Running Start program and I knew that my job as his teacher was finished. He needed the challenge of the college level studies, so how could I compete with that? Nor did I want to stand in his way. I had done my job in preparing him for college. He graduated from that college with a 2 year degree in Criminal Justice with honors. Then he went on to get accepted into the United States Military Academy at West Point and is doing well.
My other children also graduated from college and are now leading productive lives with great jobs.
The standard for my children as I homeschooled them was their very best. I feel it is important to make a big deal when they either do better than usual or get a paper 100% correct the first time around. That is a great accomplishment. I always encourage my children to do their very best. You know your children well enough to know if they slack off from their best standard.
Homeschoolers across the nation score higher on average than public school students on standardize testing. I believe it is because we as homeschool parents concern ourselves more with the learning process rather than grades. If I am going to take my own time to teach my own children, then I want them to learn and learn well. Otherwise it is a waste of my time as well as theirs.
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