This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
So 20-year school teacher Kristine Birrell wishes to give our state Legislature a letter grade to humiliate and embarrass them ("Worried," Forum, Sept. 7). Meanwhile many school teachers and administrators are all exercised over their school being assigned a simple letter grade.
Yes, we now see that teachers know that grades can be confrontational, humiliating and too often present flawed results.
So grade the state Legislature, and legislators will push back with articulate excuses. Grade the schools, and administrators will squirm and wiggle for merely a moment.
But why must teachers knowingly torment and demoralize young minds with ever more tests and quizzes in lieu of presenting learning material organically? Mother Nature creates curious young minds, which teachers routinely destroy with redundant testing, and Burrell proves she knows that grades can be used as weaponized tyranny.
When a child is trying to learn something new, it isn't always helpful having an adult looking over their shoulder asking, "Do you get it yet? Quiz time!"
Sherman Stephenson
St. George