Grading Reconsidered

In his recent blog about Bruce Horner's "Students, Authorship, and The Work of Composition," Josh explains precisely (well, almost precisely) my sentiments about grading. As a students who once identified her worth by GPA, I can laugh at my new stance as Freshmen Composition instructor. I no longer think grades are the best way to determine what a student has learned or accomplished in any given class. Forget for a moment that grades (no matter how objective or standard you may think your criteria or rubric may) are ultimately subjective. They are also, as Josh puts it, a "a form of punishment and reward." But I wonder exactly what an F (or punishment) really accomplishes? Does it truly make the student recognize the need to write more than one draft of a paper? Does it encourage them to do "better" next time? Or does it defeat them?

Today, the last day I met with my students before they turn in final portfolios, my students asked me what grade they needed to make on their portfolios to make an (fill in the blank). This seems completely counterproductive. I don't care what grade they make on the portfolio. That's not the point. The point is for them to learn, not make a grade. Personally, I would be satisfied to see that they had learned one thing they can apply to later writing projects. If they learn how to cite, great! If they learn to recognize audience, fabulous! I would like to see that they are thinking differently, taking risks with their writing, and gaining agency when they write. How do I grade those things?

I don't claim to have the answer to the grading issue. I'm not sure how to work around it or without it to be honest. Especially within a system that requires and feeds off such grading scales. But I do wonder exactly what we're teaching students. I know, this is coming from someone who was devastated when she made a grade less than A for the first time. But, then again, I prove my own point.

Mystery Building

As an English major, I have always been required to write papers for the final project of a class. But, in one particular class I took a couple of years ago, the professor gave us three options. We could (1) write a traditional paper 10-15 pages, (2) Create a website, (3) create a pamphlet, journal, e-mag, etc. All he required is that we run our ideas by him first and make sure that we did sufficient research. At first, I wanted to stick with the familiar: write a paper. I know how to write a paper, I thought. But, I decided to create a website instead to challenge myself and broaden my horizons, so to speak. It was such a liberating and challenging experience. For the first time in a long time, I had to really think about who my audience was. Yes, my website was for the class and the instructor, but because it was going to be available on the internet, I needed to think more specifically than that. I ended up spending more time on and doing more research for this project than I had ever in the past. But I was extremely proud of the end result, and I acquired a new skill.

In their article, "Building a Mystery: Alternative Research Writing and the Academic Act of Seeking," Robert Davis and Mark Shadle explain that the research paper has been and is still today typically the "climactic" final project for students in a first year composition course. While they acknowledge the value of the research paper, they also argue that alternative research assignments (even multi-media, multi-genre assignments) will help in bringing back the creativity and mystery to academic discourse. It is precisely mystery and innovation is often found lacking in students' research papers, causing them to be bland, repetitive, and ultimately irrelevant. What we need to strive for, is providing students with real-life, creative opportunities for research that they value and find interesting.

The authors state that "by asking students to stick to researching the known, we teach them to fear the unknown." I see this in my students everyday. Because of their high school experiences with the 5 paragraph essay, many of them are afraid to explore through writing. They're afraid of trying something new, yet, they seem to really crave the opportunity for doing so. The projects that the authors outline sound incredible, and because I can't really find anything to disagree with (I know; a first for me) I'll just end this blog by saying that I hope to have the chance soon to provide a group of students with the opportunity and liberation of designing their own research assignment. I would love to see a brochure, pamphlet, personal research assignment, website, blog, etc. And I think they would learn just as much, no, more, by completing such an assignment than they would by always simply writing another research paper.

What I hope to make

I recently had a disappointing encounter with someone I love. She asked me what my plans are after I graduate, and I told her that I planned to try to find a teaching job, work for a year, and then go on for my PhD.

"What exactly will you do with a PhD?"

"I'll teach," I told her.

She responded, "Why would you spend all this time and money to simply teach? You could make better money in another career."

I thought about this, not sure how to respond. I was unsure because it was a stupid question. I do what I do because I love it no matter what others may think of it. I love literature and writing, and, as idyllic and perhaps naive as it may sound, I believe these things make a difference. Through reading and writing, I hope to challenge students to become free-thinkers, critical thinkers, and confident writers. Whether the students I teach go on to study and teach ltierature themselves is beside the point. Whatever they may do in the future, I know they will be required to write in one format or another. And I hope that they take something more away from the class than how strict Mrs. Sellers was. With the class I'm teaching now, I want students to have learned that writing is social, a way to gain access to another community, a way to gain power to communicate effectively. But if all they take away is how to read an article, or an understanding that Hitler was born human like anyone else, that's cool. Because really, if I don't think I can make a difference, then what the hell am I doing?