4th blog assignment

　

Enough is Enough, Kids Are Kids


Recently, there have been lots of arguments on Swedish education, especially about whether or not we should start grading system at earlier age. “Previously, Swedish school children did not receive grades until 8th grade—at the age of 14…. Now, however, school children will receive grades in 6th grade, and schools may choose to give parents written reports of their children's academic progress as early as in 1st grade.” However, it is more likely that adopting grading system earlier has more serious disadvantages than advantages.
　　　　Test-based education is based on result-oriented notion. Education, however, should be focused on a process of leaning, not a result. Result-oriented education from an early age might cause teachers, parents and children to consider grades and result the most important factor of learning so that they will pay less attention to learning process. So it is possible that a lot of children and parents who are worried about being tardy in a dingdong race at school may do education for exams, centered on rote memorization and hasty cram.
　　　　Another bad effect of grading system, and more important than any others, is the fact that children will get much more mental pressure and stress. It has long been noted how bad influences grade-based education brings to young children. Moreover, it should be reminded that building up self-esteem is a major stage for an early-age child. So emphasizing subjects for which he or she struggles is harmful for forming healthy self-respect.
　　　　It has been argued that what all educators should follow is heading forward diverse values and against simple competition-based education; starting grading system at earlier age definitely goes against the stream. One of the main reasons to sublate competitive education is a belief that grades at schools cannot deal with every aspect of child’s abilities. A common way of grades at schools often fails to help children who are more interested in or good at non-graded subjects. Besides, it also happens that many children in grade-based education lack their interest in certain subjects after they ‘are told’ that they are ‘less well-done’ at such subjects. That is why it is important for young children to experience as many activities as possible to find out what they are really interested in and good at.
　　　　One of the crucial arguments of supporters is that early-age grading system is useful for children to get early help from educators about their weak points. However, grading is not a problem-solving but a simply problem-awareness. As mentioned above, children should be helped more about subjects that they have interests and aptitudes, rather than those that they don’t.
　　　　Education before the period of jumping into more competitive world is critical due to many reasons; it is the moment when children deliberate about their self-existence and build up basic senses of values. If they start to worry more about how they are evaluated by teachers than what they learn from them, school is no longer another home to develop children but simply a place where even young kids should feel pressure and stresses.