I hated grades in school.
Grades were a game to be won. And I won that game by graduating Valedictorian. But as cool as it is to be able to whip out that title to try to impress people--people who are, sadly, all too often unimpressed by my title--I don't think it has much meaning. At least, it says very little about my knowledge, intelligence, insight, brilliance, work-ethic, achievements, future or even my academic success. All the Valedictorian label meant was that I had been sufficiently clever so as to satisfy my teacher's requirements.
Okay, sure, it also meant that I paid attention, completed my assignments, and "did my time" in the acceptable way.
But grades--the basis of my accolade--are simply the wrong way to measure learning. I much prefer what I did with my parents when I was using Sonlight: We did it until we got it right. Theorists call this approach "mastery" or some other impressive sounding term. But the concept is incredibly easy: Keep doing it until you've got it.
Okay, sure, this means that sometimes you've got to do the same thing over and over again... but that's life.
That's an aspect of life that I am dealing with today.
What's more, often what was right yesterday is wrong today and must be redone. Beyond that, the changes I make today will need to be undone tomorrow when what was wrong becomes wrong again. Reports must be rewritten. Web updates must be kept current. The latest manuscript must be tweaked--again--to make it acceptable. And on and on it goes.
And this isn't an exercise in futility. Getting it right, albeit frustrating, is ultimately the best practice because that is how we are successful.
Grades, even good ones, do not determine success. What matters is that you get it right.
~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Surrogate Father
