"Rethinking Education in the Age of Technology" Ch. 4

"In the colonial years, the towns and villages set up independent one-room schoolhouses. They were largely ungraded and the teachers were males." pg 56

It doesn't surprise me that schooling started ungraded. While grades are a meaningful form of assessment, I do believe that they are not used correctly in schooling today. The pressure they put on students to receive a good grade rather than learn what they are being taught is significant. I am not saying grades should be eliminated, but the amount of value they have in society isn't beneficiary.

"Tests were introduced in order to make it possible to sort students into classes where all the students had roughly the same ability." pg 61

Tests are another factor of importance in schooling that has gone wrong. Tests are a a big cause of why grades are strongly emphasized; the meaning of assessment has gone from figuring out where a student is in their learning to evaluating how far they will be able to get in life.

"Diversity increases pressure on schools to individualize education to address the needs, desires, and ablities of different groups within the population." pg 63

Of course it does, but it is not a bad thing. Sure, different cultures and backgrounds increases the pressure significantly, but schools should always be prepared for diversity as everyone learns differently. Individualization of education should be a goal in every educator's mind.