The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1902-06-13
Faulty Grading in Our Public schools

Faulty Grading in Our Public Schools
(By william j. Schearer in the June Forum,
superintendent of schools of Elizabeth, MD
All must ADMIT that teachers vary
greatly in knowledge, power, skill,
and many other factors affecting
their efficiency. And so also do the
children of every grade differ widely
in age, in requirements, in aptitude,
in physical endurance, in power of
attention, in home advantages, in the
rate of mental development, in the
time of entering school, in regularity
of attendance, and in many other
ways affecting their progress. Yet,
because of the manner of grading and
promoting, the graded school OF today
tends to keep all the children OF each
grade in intellectual lock-step not
only month after month, but year
after year for their whole school
lives. Since children are not alike,
why put them in educational mills
and attempt to grind them out like,
crushing out their individuality Who
can give any good reason why we
should labor to produce uniformity OF
taste, uniformity of character, uni
formity of ability, or uniformity OF
aspirations. Is not individuality OF
more Importance than evenness OF
classification? Is not Individuality
the divinity of the child? Should 1T
not be watched for and discovered,
that it may be carefully studied, and,
when along proper lines, lovingly
guarded and prayerfully developed?
Does not biography teach us that
those only have become distinguished
who have developed love for work
on particular lines?
That the marked differences in chill
dren, in classes, and in teachers are
not properly provided for, either in
the amount and character of the work
required, or in the time to be spent
upon the work, is readily seen when
we consider the usual method of
grading and promoting. The course
of study for the grade school is di-
vided arbitrarily into number of
grades, generally a year apart, and
the work for each graded laid out for
the bright, the slow, or the average.
Many schools grade the work for
the bright. In this case all the rest
are dragged over far more work than
they can understand. Therefore,
many soon become discouraged and
drop out of school.
Though not generally acknowledged,
yet, in reality, the courses of study
in most schools are graded for the
slower pupils. This is certainly an
injustice to the large majority of
pupils who can and should go forward
more rapidly. Not only is the pro-
gress of all kept down to the pace of
those slower ones, but, worse than
this, the majority of the pupils are
drilled into habits of inattention and
idleness. So long has this continued
that many teachers have come to be-
lieve that pupils do not differ materi-
ally in their ability to cover the
course. However, there are thousands
Of earnest teachers who realize the
great injury done to the pupils by
such method of sitting talent.
But by far the largest number of
schools are supposed to be graded for
the average pupil" At first sight
this looks reasonable but, in truth,
can any thing be more absurd than
the idea of neglecting the ever
present individual pupil of flesh and
blood, of soul and life and infinite
possibilities, in the attempt to reach
all, by shaping the work for the my
thloal average pupil, F."