The Impassable Class

There was a professor who stood proudly in front of his class, ready to deliver the same speech he had given over the past several years—a speech he had never intended to share when he first started teaching. However, as student performance, irresponsibility, and overall lackluster attitudes began to weigh heavily on him, he found it necessary to make a statement.

"Welcome to my class, a class where I pride myself on the fact that no one will get an A!"

This statement is quite provocative. On one side, you have other teachers who say, "Yeah! Don’t smile until December, instill the fear of God in them, and they will stay in line!"

Yet, with this simple declaration, the professor extinguished all curiosity, excitement, and passion for the subject matter. The course's objective shifted from exploring deep understanding and broadening experiences to a singular, narrow focus: "Can I be the one to get an A?" In a typical classroom, especially in the US, only about 5-8% of students would adopt this challenging attitude. The rest would likely settle for a 'C.'

The power of assessment can either build an environment or tear it down. The way a teacher introduces the year, their syllabus, and their passion for the subject determines their level of connection with the students.

Consider this insightful quote from marketing professor Theodore Levitt: "People don’t want a quarter-inch drill bit; they want a quarter-inch hole."

If grades are the most important aspect of a class, then students are merely there for a letter grade. However, if knowledge and wisdom are the focal points of your teaching, students should feel this from the moment they enter your classroom.

Imagine if, instead of the original speech, the professor began the course by saying: "Welcome. Today marks day one of your journey towards understanding and deeper wisdom. By the end of our time together, I hope you will feel more connected, more passionate, and more knowledgeable about our subject and how it applies to your everyday life. Change begins now. We will have assessments along the way, but you will be well-prepared for them. We are dealing with information that could change the world, but to make that happen, your ideas, mistakes, passions, and experiences need to be fully engaged. This will be a course unlike any you have ever experienced. Let's get started..."

*Note: The professor would not then proceed to open a 72-slide PowerPoint presentation and have students merely copy notes—but that's a topic for another blog post.

Find the passion for learning and let grades and reports occupy their minor space in the process.

• Formative Assessment is for practice.

• Summative Assessments determine mastery.

• Letter Grades can be Distracting.

• Learning is the foundation that changes everything.