All professors try to give fair grades, and most students try to gain high grades – but rarely do we ask whether grading is necessary or helpful. The giving of grades raises some interesting questions, and the pages of the Chonnam Tribune seemed the most suitable place to confront several.
As a tutor in the English Education Department, distributing fair grades supported by reliable evidence is part of my responsibility. Tutors at university in the Republic of Korea – and in China, where I have often taught – are required to give marks. It’s part of the job description.
As a human being, however, I dislike giving grades. Students in any decent teacher’s class should be viewed as equals: that is, they have an equal right to the tutor’s attention and assistance. On a human level, giving cold letters – an A+ for you, a B+ for him – seems unnecessarily divisive. Students who receive lower grades may label themselves as being bad at a particular subject, even if they really enjoy that subject. Such distinctions seem unnecessary, and hurtful. Since I have no innate desire to encourage some while discouraging others, I would not naturally choose to give grades.
Do grades really help students? Let’s imagine you receive low grades. This may well discourage you and is therefore counterproductive. But it may be equally unhelpful for a student to receive a string of A+ grades. High marks make it harder and harder to live up to people’s expectations (the expectations of teachers, parents, and anyone you ever meet who sees your grades). Besides, the victory of a high grade is hollow – receiving an A+ is not meaningful in the same way as producing or creating something with which you feel satisfied, that gives pleasure to others. A high grade is just a token of prestige.
There are arguments in favour of grading, certainly. One argument states that the grade you received for a certain course tells a future employer what you know. But does it? We all know that you can cram for exams, only to forget everything you ‘learnt’ once you’ve jumped over the hurdle. Any sensible employer should give applicants for the job in question a careful interview or a test to see what they really know, and whether they can perform the job effectively.
A second argument in favour of grading is that the prospect of a high grade helps to motivate students. If there were no grade to be obtained, students might not bother to work. But is this actually true? I always hope that students will study and participate in class because they enjoy and value the subject. I hope that people will study out of a desire for self-cultivation – to make the most of their lives and perhaps help others by developing their potential. I was always disappointed at university when I spoke to people who were studying German literature only so that they could secure a high grade and in turn obtain a lucrative job.
At university, many things remain unsaid. In the entire course of my degree, I don’t recall any tutor ever asking me, “Why do you want to study this?” I think it is important for teachers to say these things – and be honest about how they feel about their place within the system – so that students do not assume that we all enjoy giving grades. Convention and duty ask us to give grades, but it can be as stressful and problematic for a professor as for the students who must jump through the hoops. For my first few semesters of teaching at university level, I had an internal battle each semester after the pleasure of teaching – because I didn’t want to give grades. The giving of grades seemed ethically repulsive. Nowadays, I accept that grading is part of my responsibility as a university professor rather than a community teacher; I do everything possible to make the process fair and not to discourage anyone.
 
By Jacob Lotinga, Assistant Professor, Dept. of English Education
#308 Faculty Column

 

저작권자 © Chonnam Tribune 무단전재 및 재배포 금지