This reading is our second foray into understanding the arguments against grading. By now, you've hopefully read the syllabus for IB Global Politics and possibly my own argument supporting a moratorium on grading in the classes I facilitate. My hope is that you come to understand, as well as critically appraise, the role of grades and grading practices in contemporary high school class settings. By way of context, Joe Bower is another educator who has helped me articulate and amplify my teaching voice in the past few years. In his article (2011), Bower argues that grades distract, distort, or otherwise disrupt the natural relationship between student and teacher by constructing obstacles in the assessment process.
After reading the article, we'll all participate in a "Sentence, Phrase, and Word" routine (scroll down the page for the description), posting our ideas as a comment to this post. After reading each others' ideas, we'll then want to look for common themes and discuss the implications of our ideas.
As always, I look forward to reading your ideas and thoughts.