C4T Post #1

In the blog, Want Creative Classrooms? Scrap the Tests., John Spencer talks about how most people think teachers just show movies at the end of the year. He mentions that it's not like that at his school. There are children bursting with energy, testing paper airplanes and putting final touches on their movies. He also mentions that four weeks ago the school was totally different. Teachers and students were stressed prepping for standardized test. Spencer believes that if we take testing away you will see schools developing. I replied with the comment, " I like the idea of taking testing away. In my opinion, kids aren't learning because they want to learn but because they have to learn to pass standardized test. Without the enforcement of test they would be open to becoming more creative and actually wanting to learn. Children are more motivated towards the end of year because the stress of being forced to learn is over. "

In the blog post, What happens to student engagement when you take away grades?, talks about what happens to student engagement when you take away grades. His answer in one word is nothing. He mentions that students are still going to have distractions. They may not be distracted by things in class, but things in the world. Some are going to be bored and some are going to hungry. He says with the lack of grades you would think students wouldn't care about the work. That's not true, students who want to learn and are willing to learn will learn whether grades are involved or not. I replied with the comment, "When asked, "What happens to student engagement when you take away grades?", my answer would have definitely been the same! I believe that nothing changes. Children who don't want to learn will not put any effort towards learning whether you're grading them or not. Then there will be students who want to learn no matter the circumstances.