At a recent professional development meeting teachers at my site discussed what we are trying to accomplish when we assign grades. My group of 11th grade teachers came to the conclusion that we are attempting to make students accountable for their education and mold them into model students and scholars.
I agreed with the sentiment; grades tell you a person's work ethic and their ability to overcome obstacles/challenges.
As a student I had classes/teachers that completely baffled me, but I knew that I had to overcome the obstacles, even if it meant talking to an unapproachable professor or studying late into the night.
A good student does what they have to do to get the grade/knowledge needed to move on. But many of my students are not as tenacious or ambitious as I. My students aren't even interested in cheating to get the grade.
Our teacher debate then turned to the importance and weight of homework. How much should homework count?
I posed the same question to my AP students - why homework? Their answers were shallow and self-serving. But I was ready to respond.
Why homework?? Because in college all classwork is the result/reaction to the homework; Because most careers (not jobs, CAREERS) involve homework; Because you have to learn to do the research on your own and not rely on your peers; Because life is a pile of never-ending homework.
They got the picture.
I understand. I have a love-hate relationship with homework, but, in the end, I know it matters... For my grade... For my life.
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