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Midterm grades are often eye-opening experiences for my students.\u00a0 Some are doing well; others not so well.\u00a0 And although they probably know where their grades stand, it is another thing altogether when they see an \u201cF\u201d on their midterm grade report.\u00a0 I approached one of my students this week who was failing my English composition class.\u00a0 I asked him if we could get together to chat about his grade.\u00a0 He agreed.\u00a0 When we finally met, I expected to chat for ten or fifteen minutes; we ended up talking for almost an hour.\u00a0 It was an important experience for me.\u00a0 After talking about missing assignments and multiple absences, we then began to talk about life, my favorite subject.\u00a0 Being a life-long learner, I began to probe into this young African-American student\u2019s story.\u00a0 Following is a synopsis of his narrative:<\/p>\n
I have had a hard time with trusting people all my life, and I don\u2019t have many friends.\u00a0 I don\u2019t really trust anyone \u2013 well maybe one other student here who is so persistent with me; she makes me talk with her.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
My father is a pastor.\u00a0 My mother has been sick for years, and I have been the one to take care of her.\u00a0 She has been very sick this year, so I have been spending a lot of time with her.\u00a0 My dad is very busy.\u00a0 My sisters are much older than I am and have been out of the home for a long time, so I am the one who has to help with Mom.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
It is hard to be Black in a predominately White culture.\u00a0 I went to two high schools.\u00a0 I had to leave one because I was always bullied by the \u201ccountry\u201d students, all of whom hated minorities and were not afraid to let me know that.\u00a0 My second school was better, but many White students came up to me and said, \u201cI would like to meet you.\u00a0 I like Black people.\u201d\u00a0 Probably seventy-five percent of the students were this way at the school; the other twenty-five percent didn\u2019t like minority students and were quite verbal about that.\u00a0 Both views were hard for me.\u00a0 You want to be my friend because I am Black?\u00a0 Can\u2019t you just be my friend because I am John [not his real name]?\u00a0 For a while, I hated White people.\u00a0 But I eventually realized that they are not all the same; a few are sincerely nice and accept me for who I am.\u00a0 High School was hard, not only because I was Black but also because I am a pastor\u2019s kid.\u00a0 In many ways I didn\u2019t fit in.\u00a0 I was glad to get out of there.\u00a0 Then I came to college [a Christian college].<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
College is different, but there are still a lot of students who come up to me and tell me that they like Black people.\u00a0 Can\u2019t someone just like me for who I am?\u00a0 My friend Jessica [not her real name] likes me for who I am.\u00a0 I will probably leave next year.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
John\u2019s story touched me deeply.\u00a0 It was not as if I had never heard this story before; rather, I was taken with this young man\u2019s \u201cpresence.\u201d\u00a0 MaryKate Morse writes about this in Chapter 6 of her book.[1]<\/a>\u00a0 In this chapter, The Law of the Jungle<\/em>, she writes about several \u201cvisual markers\u201d that tell others who a person is.\u00a0 These markers include gender, culture, extroversion\/introversion, age, physical features, economic and social status, style of dress, education, and marital status.\u00a0 In relation to culture, Morse writes, \u201cYears after the Civil Rights movement, we still carry ingrained cultural perceptions about members of other races and other cultures.\u00a0 These perceptions are so embedded in our minds and bodies that we are often unaware of them.\u201d[2]<\/a>\u00a0 She also says that if one is in a minority culture, that person will often feel misunderstood.\u00a0 There is a difference in perception on many issues, depending on the culture in which one has been raised.\u00a0 The American culture still needs a lot of help in understanding and responding to \u201cthe other\u201d in appropriate, culturally responsive ways.<\/p>\n
As a teacher, I am called to evaluate student work all the time \u2013 papers, homework assignments, in-class participation, and presentations.\u00a0 But subconsciously, I also find myself \u201cgrading\u201d people as I see and experience them.\u00a0 Do I \u201cgrade\u201d people by their outward appearance?\u00a0 If I were honest, I would have to say yes.\u00a0 I agree with Morse on this point, particularly in relation to gender issues.\u00a0 As a man, I do find myself \u201cgrading\u201d women.\u00a0 I also grade educational levels (which I often determine by a person\u2019s vocabulary) and other physical markers such as weight, skin quality, teeth, and clothing styles.\u00a0 But on what criteria (whose criteria) do I base these evaluations?\u00a0 What rubrics<\/em> do I use?\u00a0 These are important questions we all need to ask ourselves.<\/p>\n
One of the best teachers at my school and I had a great chat a couple of years ago about grading.\u00a0 We were having some problems with grade disparity on campus.\u00a0 As we shared with one another, Joe introduced me to a concept that I had never thought about before but have been thinking about ever since.\u00a0 He called his idea \u201cquantum grading.\u201d\u00a0 In a nutshell, quantum grading says that a grade given in this universe might be a different grade altogether in another universe.\u00a0 What is an \u201cA\u201d?\u00a0 What is an \u201cF\u201d?\u00a0 It all depends on the standard one is looking for.\u00a0 Are we grading a student on how he or she does in relation to other students, or are we looking for progress in that particular student?\u00a0 What intelligence might look like in one place might look completely different in another universe.\u00a0 For example, if a student comes from an oral culture, should we grade his or her papers on the same standard as a student who comes from a more visual\/written culture?\u00a0 And how do we grade emotional intelligence (EQ) as opposed to intellectual intelligence (IQ)?\u00a0 Which is more important?\u00a0 I guess it depends on the universe.<\/p>\n
So what about John?\u00a0 Is he a failure?\u00a0 How do I grade him? In what universe do I, the teacher, put him?\u00a0 Perhaps it is I who need to be graded down for not taking the time to talk with him before now.\u00a0 Perhaps it was the teacher who failed here, not the student.\u00a0 I am definitely open to that possibility.\u00a0 So what is my next move?\u00a0 I told John that I would help him and that he is not a failure.\u00a0 I will not do his work for him, but I will still allow him to turn in his work (with reduced points) by next week.\u00a0 Also, we will meet weekly to talk about his work, to talk about family, and to talk about life. I am glad that Joe taught me the lessons of quantum grading.\u00a0 I am also glad to be in the universe of God\u2019s grace and want John to experience that universe as well.<\/p>\n
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