Diksha Kumar

1/11/15
Daybook Activity 1
UWRT 1103-020
Stacco
From Degrading to De-grading
This article that I had to read was very interesting and peaked my interest with every
paragraph. While I was reading, I found myself agreeing with some of the points author, Alfie
Kohn, made. There was even one time where while I was reading, in my head I was thinking Oh
my gosh, this is so true. Or This happens to me all the time. I really connected with this
article, it was very relatable.
In his section Three Main Effect of Grading the very first point I wholeheartedly agree with.
Honestly as soon as a teacher slaps a grade on some assignment my interest in whatever we are
learning plummets. I agree with Kohn when he stated that grades tend to reduce students interest
in learning itself. Grades also tend to reduce the quality of students thinking is something that I
have personal experience with and agree completely. As soon as I complete a course everything I
just learned just leaves my brain. Its like I retain the information long enough to remember for
the test but afterwards, I forget. Grades arent valid. This is true, it took me a long time to grasp
this concept but it is so true. Society as a whole puts so much emphasis on getting good grade in
school from the moment we leave elementary school, but the truth of the matter is that grades

really do not matter as much as we believe them to be. Getting an A isnt and shouldnt be my
top priority, and that making A and B do not determine your intelligence.
Even though I completely agree with Kohn on abolishing grades, there are some points I
disagree with on the matter. Such as Grades spoil teachers relationships with students.
Personally Ive always had either a great relationship with my previous teachers or professor, or I
have had a neutral relationship with them, nothing not even grades spoiled my relationship
with my instructors, at least not in the way Kohn is describing it. Grades waste a lot of time, all
the points the author made in this section only effects the teachers time after class/school, not
during school. I have never met a teacher that updates grades during a lesson, or stops our lesson
to finish grading our test or previous assignments. They have all done that either at home, or
during their free time in school, or while we had another assignment to do they would work on
grades as well. Not to say that the teachers time is not valuable after class is over, only that
working on grade books or talking to a student or parent in no way disrupts the learning time.
Students are addicted to receiving grades. For me at least this is not true at all. Last semester
when I found out that the only grades we would receive in that course was pass/fail I was so
happy, I did not care one bit that I would not receive any grades for that course.
Kohn made some excellent points regarding why the grading system should be dismantled. Even
though I completely agree with the author there is some small part of me that would be upset id
the grading system vanished. Its just because of grades I spent countless of all-nighters studying
or finishing homework and projects. I spent countless of hours stressed to the point of wanting to
pull my hair out. But thats a very small selfish part of me and honestly thinking about it, I would
never want anyone to go through what I went through, because that would be too cruel, even to
my worst enemies.