WOE TO YOU, GRADES

What's in them really?

Four times in the life of a student, he is sucked in a swallowing vortex of fear for what he dreadedly calls as the report card. Every grading period is a struggle to all hard working students to stare point blank at their grades, passed or failed. A failed grade not only vouches one's lack luster performance but also carries with it a depressing stigma that maybe the student is not performing very well or worse, that he does not really know. All of these indeed are causes to fear for a student who fails.

When a student fails and when the teacher is "good" in all the real sense, the former may indeed have not been performing very well. It would, however, be prudent to note that grades are not solely based on performance alone. There are intangible factors that go with grades. A student may have been performing very well but his sense of time management may have prevented him from giving adequate and equal attention to all subjects. he may have some preferences and may have used up all his time on a few subjects only.

Behavior also counts in some subjects, most especially the non-academic ones. A student may fail because he is misbehaving inside the school. The students should remember that the vision of the school does not only stop at them acquiring academic skills but also for them to be able to develop good manners and acceptable behavior in the community where they belong. It is sad that a lot of students today are needing of good manners. There are just so many students now that have clouded perception of what is good, acceptable and downright offensive behavior.

The parents too figure in the school performance of a student. Parents are the motivating factors for them to excel. What happens, though, if the parents are not there? If the latter may not be motivating enough, at least there are people who may be deterrent for the student to be not doing his job at school. The parents may monitor the study habits of their children. They may also be checking their children for requirements they may have to perform as other evidences of learning. Sadly, some parents are not at home.

It is indeed frightening to receive a report card with a failed grade. How much more, failed grades! A student may not deserve the scorn when he fails precisely because there are intangibles that come with failures. Yes, he may not be performing very well, but his lack luster performance may have been due to poor time management and the absence of parents who are the cheer leaders on the side. Worse and these may not be easy to remedy is bad behavior. Simply there are students that are annoying, the school is better off without them inside the class.