As a parent, I remember looking the honor roll as an indicator my children were doing their work to the highest level of which they were capable. As a teacher, I am proud when kids strive to do the best they can regardless of grading. However, the sad truth is the honor roll is alive and well in most middle schools.
As a parent of children who could be found at all levels of the spectrum, I see the pros and cons. My child who received special services for a writing disability, overcame incredible odds and was jubilant when she achieved honor roll for the first time as a middle schooler. Another child , a hard worker who gave 110% in every subject she tackled and graduated 7th in a class of over 200, was devastated if she received less than a 95. My son...could care less! I have a student who never made the honor roll because of her difficulty in math. She excels in every other venue but is math phobic. This year she scored 84% in math. Rather than being elated she was devastated she had not gotten that extra point to place her in honors. Were there no honor roll she may have been proud of her accomplishment. However, should we not honor those who work to achieve this distinction? My daughter, who was always a high honor student, was proud of her accomplishments and felt rewarded in some way for her hard work. When discussing this with her now, she asked me if we would ignore the high scorer or overall team player for the MVP in a basketball game, the big seller on a sales team or the fastest runner in a road race. Of course she knows grades can be subjective unlike these earlier examples and "ay, there's the rub!" I have no firm answers and would love to hear for the rest of you on the subject. I tend to lean toward more standards based grading which may eliminate the honor roll but still believe some sort of recognition is in order for those who achieve. How best to do this? -- Tena _______________________________________________ The Literacy Workshop ListServ http://www.literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/lit_literacyworkshop.org. Search the LIT archives at http://snipurl.com/LITArchive
