So, let’s say you have eighteen people in a small paddle boat and everyone has a paddle. Or most everyone. The only task the group has is to cross a small lake. As a benevolent, kind, and perceived leader you say, “Ok folks, we are going over there to the other side of the lake. Go ahead and paddle whenever you want.”
I know right?
Having a goal, a destination, or a target or a reason to do something can involve many things. People who would rather walk around the lake. People who hold the paddle upside-down. People who may rather nap than paddle. People who want to have a coffee before paddling. And of course, those who just want to get it over with and get to the other side of the damn lake.
Personally, I want to enjoy the journey across the lake. Get some upper-body exercise. Feel the breeze moving though my hair as our small boat glides across the water and the sun warms our faces. That’s how all my classes go…
Or not.
I am reminded of the “We teach students, not classes/subjects” and if that is the case, then well, shouldn’t everyone just row when they wish? Well, sort of. But I think what is missing there is trying to choreograph a common sense of purpose and shared vision of the journey across the lake. It is guiding people. It is helping them to find purpose in the activity. To want to paddle. To want to get across the lake in a timely manner. And that is just soooo tricky.
I liken this journey across the lake and the need for inspiration to the work of grading, and grading in classrooms. “Your work is late! Sorry, I’ll have to give you an F,” said every high school teacher I ever had. Yeah, that helped me lots. I know that the evaluation of work is different from accepting late work. I know. But I think the message can be similar, and certainly late work often changes a grade. You know, some folks just don’t paddle that fast. Some missed breakfast or have a sick spouse? Some paddlers are afraid of water while others are just cold. These things need to be acknowledged by real humans in time and space, not policy written into a 17 page syllabus. Then a decision can be made about the student and the late work.
Anyway, here is the heroic Alfie Kohn with four minutes of killin’ it on grading practices which I think fit loosely into the world of late work. And you know how the guy feels about homework…
I realize this is not about late work specifically, but grading, and the grade received for late work. Here is a rant on grades I once shared back when my hair represented my heart.