[from Solomon Sun]
Grades equal stress at any grade and for all teachers who fill-out those dreaded report cards. Nothing seems to get by that doesn't have to be assessed and possibly reassessed time and time again: small school, big school, formal, informal, public or private. What can I say? Teaching is a life of one form of assessment based on another to make your life ever more stressful and students ever more disconcerted with tests, especially around week 8 or 9 of the quarter. Don't get me wrong. A's are awesome, B's should still make you smile, and C's can be hard to swallow. For some, report cards are life or death, for others I am sure they use them as coasters for all the soda they drink. But here's the thing: I want students to care about making the right choices when no one, especially me, is riding their back; to be what they want to make the grade. I want my student's education to infest all aspects of their lives so much and be so apparent that the only thing that has an opinion on what the report card says or is used for is the tree that was harmed in its making. Having a class full of self-evident learners is what makes my job so special. Be the knowledge and feed the knowledge.