Self-esteem
So agree! I have worked for several years in the school environment and it is necessary to question certain practices that are harmful to the good development of students. Assessment, as it is understood, does not allow students to build and develop a good self-image. Self-esteem is one of the important keys to learning. The stress of grades is terribly harmful! Thank you for this thought-provoking text!
Andrée Rouleau, teacher, pedagogical advisor, assistant director and, to finish a great career, remedial teacher!
Less heavy, more human
Ah! My God ! What a relief that would be! Much less heavy and human for everyone! The dynamic would be completely different! Everyone’s learning and pace could be more favorable and respected! Elementary students are so anxious! It’s sad…
Micheline Giguère, retired primary school teacher
Fail or pass
You don’t have to go as far as Finland to find primary school students receiving unmarked report cards. Already, in Canada, in the beautiful province of Prince Edward Island, there is only a rating of failure or passing. This gives students the opportunity to surpass themselves without being compared with the academic results of other children.
Valerie Lacombe
Parent support
I completely agree with Mr. Joël Boucher, but, without wanting to contradict him, there have been attempts at unencrypted ballots for at least 40 years in Quebec and there are still some today, but conservatism is very strong and, without the obligatory support of the parents, the experience often remains at this stage. I experienced a descriptive bulletin four decades ago which showed that students in difficulty found their account in it, because everyone found positive in this bulletin. But the lack of cooperation and understanding from the parents caused the grades to return.
Edith Asselin
Performance contracts
The current premier of Quebec says education is “very important”. While he was Minister of Education, he introduced performance contracts. The objective is now to lower failure rates from the 2e primary year. The encrypted bulletin is at the service of this vision. When we apply the same measures for schools as for a manufacturing company, we are far from school for everyone and even further from making it a living environment conducive to learning.
Clément Roy, retired teacher and director
It takes a measure
It is time to question our system. What do we want from school? An environment where the child is happy, entertained, has fun and is not confronted with the demands of effort or the need to develop strategies to adapt? I have long dreamed of learning taking place without “it showing”. I even spent a lot of time researching how to do this. But it was only an ideal. Without awareness of a difficulty, without personal choice to invest in overcoming this difficulty, we cannot learn. But to do that, you need a measure. The encrypted ballot is not the solution, but neither is the lettered ballot. It is on the basis that we must agree, and on a less utopian “mission”.
Chantal Rheault, retired remedial teacher
Transfer the problem
There is certainly a balance to be found at the level of the encrypted bulletin, but to eliminate it is to hide our shortcomings. We need the grades to know what the student has learned, what he has integrated, versus where he is having difficulty. Otherwise, the system passes the student and transfers the problem to another grade level.
Lise Anne Normand
The real elephant
You are completely in the field. The real elephant in the school system is to persist in wanting to integrate all levels and skills in the same class out of fear and lack of courage to tell your boy or girl that he does not have the physical skills or mental to be in this class. By doing that, we are harming an entire society, because we are not encouraging the strongest to flourish more.
Christian Livernoche