What Your Grades Really Mean | Eva Ren | TEDxEdenHighSchool
Summary
TLDRThe speaker passionately argues against the current education system's focus on grades over learning and creativity. They highlight how students avoid subjects they struggle with to protect their academic averages, leading to a decline in curiosity and innovation. The script calls for a shift in perspective, emphasizing the importance of fostering interest and long-term learning over short-term academic performance. Historical examples of successful individuals with poor grades are used to illustrate that grades do not define intelligence or potential.
Takeaways
- π The script discusses the pressure students face to choose electives based on maintaining a high academic average rather than personal interest.
- π It highlights the issue of students avoiding subjects they struggle with to protect their grades, suggesting a misalignment between learning and academic performance.
- π€ The author questions the purpose of school, arguing it should foster interest and improvement rather than just measuring adherence to a curriculum.
- π The script references research indicating a decline in student creativity, potentially due to an education system focused on testing and memorization.
- π It points out the tendency of students to prioritize grades over learning, influenced by societal and institutional emphasis on academic marks.
- π The speaker criticizes the one-size-fits-all approach in education, suggesting it doesn't account for diverse learning needs and strengths.
- π§ The script challenges the notion that grades are the sole indicator of intelligence or potential, advocating for a more holistic view of student abilities.
- π It shares personal experiences to illustrate how early academic struggles don't define one's future success or capabilities.
- π The author calls for a change in perspective, urging society to value learning over grades and to stop stigmatizing students with lower academic performance.
- π The script concludes with a call to action for educators and policymakers to rethink the education system to encourage creativity, curiosity, and long-term learning.
Q & A
What is the main concern the speaker raises about the current education system?
-The speaker is concerned that the current education system focuses too much on grades and academic performance, rather than fostering interest, creativity, and the joy of learning.
Why does the speaker believe that students avoid taking certain classes?
-Students avoid certain classes because they fear it might lower their academic average, which they perceive as crucial for their future success.
What does the speaker suggest is the consequence of the education system's focus on grades?
-The consequence is a decline in creativity among students, as they learn just enough to get the desired grade and are reluctant to engage with material not directly linked to tests or marks.
What historical figures does the speaker mention to argue that grades do not define intelligence or potential?
-The speaker mentions Sir Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, and Thomas Edison, who despite not excelling academically, went on to make significant contributions to society.
How does the speaker describe the impact of the education system on students' self-esteem?
-The speaker describes that the education system can lower students' self-esteem by stigmatizing those with lower grades and creating a false perception that they are less intelligent.
What personal experience does the speaker share to illustrate the complexity of academic performance?
-The speaker shares their experience of struggling academically in elementary school due to language barriers and social challenges after immigrating to Canada, despite being a straight-A student later on.
What does the speaker suggest as an alternative to the current grading system?
-The speaker suggests that grades should be used as feedback on learning rather than as the sole measure of success, and that the focus should be on encouraging the desire to learn and long-term progress.
Why does the speaker argue that the current education system is ineffective for all students?
-The speaker argues that the current system is ineffective because it operates on a one-size-fits-all model, ignoring the diverse needs, strengths, and passions of individual students.
What does the speaker propose as a solution to the problem of students feeling limited by their grades?
-The speaker proposes changing our perspective on what grades mean, recognizing that numbers do not define a student's intelligence or potential, and focusing on fostering a love for learning.
What does the speaker imply about the role of teachers in the current education system?
-The speaker implies that teachers are not solely at fault for the system's issues, as they too are constrained by the same system and were once students within it.
How does the speaker suggest we should view students with lower grades?
-The speaker suggests that we should not view students with lower grades as inferior, but rather recognize that they may learn differently or be dealing with personal issues that affect their academic performance.
Outlines
π The Struggle with School Grades and Learning
The speaker begins by expressing excitement over new electives but quickly transitions into a discussion about the difficulty of choosing classes. They touch on the pressure students face to maintain high grades, which can limit their willingness to take challenging classes for fear of lowering their academic average. The narrative criticizes the education system for focusing too much on test scores and memorization rather than fostering genuine interest and improvement in subjects. The speaker argues that this approach stifles creativity and curiosity, as evidenced by research showing a decline in student creativity. They also point out the societal pressure that equates grades with intelligence and future success, which can lead to a narrow view of education that values marks over learning.
π Challenging the Notion of Academic Superiority
In the second paragraph, the speaker shares a personal anecdote about struggling academically due to language barriers and social challenges after immigrating to Canada. They use this experience to argue against the assumption that good grades equate to intelligence or capability. The speaker emphasizes that various factors, such as mental health, bullying, and family issues, can impact a student's academic performance. They call for a more nuanced understanding of student potential that goes beyond grades, advocating for a recognition of individual differences and the need for a personalized approach to education. The speaker also highlights the importance of not judging students based on their grades alone and the need to consider the broader context of their lives.
π Redefining Success in Education
The final paragraph of the script calls for a shift in perspective on the importance of grades. The speaker suggests that grades should be seen as feedback on learning rather than as definitive measures of success or intelligence. They argue for a move away from a one-size-fits-all education system towards one that recognizes and nurtures the diverse strengths and passions of students. The speaker concludes by emphasizing the need to encourage a love of learning and to stop marginalizing students based on their grades, suggesting that this change will better prepare the leaders of tomorrow.
Mindmap
Keywords
π‘Electives
π‘Academic Average
π‘Creativity
π‘Memorization
π‘Curriculum
π‘Mark-Obsessed
π‘Stigma
π‘Self-Esteem
π‘One-Size-Fits-All
π‘Potential
π‘Feedback
Highlights
Many students avoid certain classes for fear of lowering their academic average, even when interested in the subject.
School systems prioritize grades over genuine learning, leading to students focusing more on marks than the educational experience.
Creativity among students is on the decline, as they focus only on learning material required for exams.
Students are often discouraged from asking insightful questions because the answers are beyond the curriculum.
The pressure to achieve high grades has led students to value numbers on a transcript more than developing a true understanding of subjects.
Students feel that marks determine their future, as many educational institutions and employers heavily focus on academic performance.
Innovation may stagnate under the current education system, as it does not foster creativity and independent thinking.
A stigma exists for students who struggle with certain subjects, as lower grades are often equated with lower intelligence.
External factors like mental health, personal issues, and language barriers can significantly impact a student's academic performance, but are often overlooked.
The speaker shares a personal story of struggling in school due to language barriers after immigrating to Canada, despite now being a high-performing student.
Many successful individuals, including Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein, had poor grades in school but went on to make significant contributions to society.
The current education system applies a 'one-size-fits-all' approach, expecting all students to learn in the same way.
Teachers are also constrained by the system and cannot tailor learning to each studentβs individual needs.
Grades should be viewed as feedback on learning, not as the sole indicator of a student's intelligence or potential.
To foster a generation of innovative leaders, the focus should shift from academic performance to encouraging a genuine desire to learn.
Transcripts
[Music]
I was excited to learn about all these
new electives being offered I love so
many subjects so it was hard to narrow
down which ones to take but eventually
when I was finally done picking my
classes I compared to my schedule with
my friends just to see if they had any
classes with me then one of my friends
said yeah I love English but I didn't
take English literature this year
because I suck at it and asked her well
why do you suck at English and she
replied well I only got a 70 in the
class last year and at first I thought
fair enough but then later I realized
whether you suck at a subject or not
shouldn't the point of school be about
fostering our interest and becoming
better at something so why does getting
a bad mark limit our learning
unfortunately the reality for many
students is they don't take certain
classes for fear it would bring down
their academic average and this is a big
deal when students compromise their own
learning just to get their numbers on
their report cards now you might be
thinking well that's the students own
fault anyways but why do so many of them
care about grace rather than learning
could it be that school is focusing on
the wrong thing it seems like schools
sole preoccupation is to determine who
can follow the curriculum the best we as
young people are taught to memorize
information found in a textbook only to
regurgitate it on to next week's test
paper before forgetting all about it oh
you don't need to know that for the test
or that's way beyond the curriculum are
usually some teachers responses to
an insightful question or an original
comment that Aston has made I feel like
school no longer inspires the minds of
the next generation instead researchers
at the College of William and Mary
showed that the creativity among
students is on the decline an increased
number of students merely learned a
minimum just to get the desired grade we
asked hey what's on the quiz so we can
study just that and if something is not
for marks or not on a test then we're
reluctant to do the work assigned now is
this because students are lazy why do we
seem so mark obsessed well it's because
a number means so much to us nowadays
because we feel like those numbers
determine our futures so we value
getting a good mark as more important
than learning itself but what other
choices do we have
it's not like we really have a say in
this we are told day after day that
education is the key to a successful
life and that we need good marks in
order to have a respectable job or good
income sure some people tell us that
marks don't define us and that were more
than just so great but it never feels
that way many institutions and learning
programs solely look at the marks on a
transcript making students feel like
their future is determined by that
simple piece of paper so even though
some students might be passionate about
their learning or have an inventive mind
if they underperform on those exams then
these organizations will refuse to
consider them innovation will stagnate
if this current ideology of education is
followed because we kill our children's
creativity curiosity and desire to learn
the education system makes it easy for
them to just do what they're being told
by high school most of us students we
will stop asking questions and we will
roll our eyes
add a few hoodoo and in the midst of all
of this we have developed another
problem we somehow adopted this false
perspective that those who have good
marks must be better and smarter than
those who do not now those that have
trouble following one way of learning
have to face a stigma because in our
society students with lower grades are
considered as less intelligent and this
lowers the self-esteem but often times
it just means they might learn
differently and they are smart in their
own way or they could be going through a
personal issue that consequently affects
their marks we shouldn't be so quick to
judge them personally I have always been
a straight-a student throughout high
school most of my marks are in the mid
to high 90s and when I tell people that
I have almost failed grade two and three
and only God sees an elementary school
no one believes me
they say oh you seem smart so how could
she have possibly struggled an
elementary school well the truth is I
almost failed those couple of grades
because those were the years when I
first immigrated Canada and at that time
I didn't know English or French a space
with a lot of language and social
barriers I had horrible grades not
necessarily because I wasn't intelligent
or I was just lazy at school no I
honestly couldn't understand the words
that my teachers were even saying let
alone understanding the homework I can
communicate with my classmates because
of this language barrier and from being
faced with racial stereotypes on a daily
basis to being very secure due to my
Inessa T my accent at that time or even
like the food that I brought from home
because it's no different no wonder I
had difficulty learning in school I was
so concerned about fitting in as a
minority thankfully I eventually
overcame the problems that came with
immigration but to this day nothing
frustrates me more than when students
with higher grades think that they're
bad
and others simply because they have
better marks or when teachers there to
view some of their students as less
capable just because of their
performance at school sure some people
might not be naturally talented and
subjects such as algebra but does that
honestly mean that they're less smart
and why can't we also see that mental
illnesses bullying financial security
family issues and other factors do limit
some people's ability to do well at
school now does that mean that they
don't have the potential to succeed of
course not so numbers don't tell you
everything and the problem with our
current education system right now
is that we have a one-size-fits-all kind
of deal but we know that students have
different needs strengths passions no
two brains are the same and just like
Richard Williams said if a doctor was to
prescribe the same exact medicine to all
of his students it would be a disaster
right because so many of their patients
would get sick yet when it comes to
school this is exactly what happens we
have one system and we just expect
everybody to follow it now I'm not
saying that grading is useless and it's
all the teacher's fault because teachers
are actually stuck in the same system
that was imposed on them just like it
was on the students and we can't just
blame the policymakers of Education
either because it's not like there's an
obvious way to do this we can't just
overturn the current system completely
and say oh let's just abolish the
grading system and consider every
student individually because that's just
not realistic or at least not yet
however until we do improve the way we
educate our future generation there is
something you can do to help re-instill
students desires to go to school and
that is to
change our perspective on what grades
really mean and to realize that the
numbers do not define their intelligence
or potential looking back on history we
can easily find people who despite not
being at the top of their class they had
brilliant minds think of Sir Isaac
Newton who received horrible grades in
high school
think of Albert Einstein who also
received mediocre grades
similarly Thomas Edison was called
mentally ill by his teachers but he is
now known as a person who lights up our
lives literally so if you want to
realize the potential of our society we
need to shift the focus away from
academic performance alone instead
encouraging the desire to learn should
be schools focus not just the grace that
we receive it shouldn't be about the
comparative achievement but rather the
long-term progress of our students so
instead of relying on grace to measure
someone's success potential or intellect
we should just use them as feedback on
their learning and we need to stop
treating those that have lower grades as
inferior and when we can stop
marginalizing students with lower grace
and when we can stop forcing students to
believe that their grace is the only
indicator of success that's when we will
better and truly encourage the leaders
of tomorrow thank you
[Music]
[Applause]
you
[Music]
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