Grades do not belong in primary school

During many years there has been a vivid discussion surrounding the question weather we should or should not grade our children in primary school. Arguments both for and against the proposal has been lifted both by parents, techers, principals and politicans, its a question that has divided people. A question, were the answer in my eyes should be given, no we should not grade our children to early, it can cause more harm than good.

Everyone evolves diffrently, for example when learning how to read, some children may need more time, while other children thinks its easy as a breeze. This is a fact that never changes, specially at an early age when the mind is still growing and evolveing. To grade children at this point in time, when they are not on the same level, is not in the greatest intrest of the children, rather the opposite.

It may be argued that grading pupils in primary school is a way to discover if anyone has a disorder or are in need of extra attention or help at an early point. But as teacher´s we should be able to discover if a child has any kind of difficulties without grading them. Its not the grades that tells us if a child is in need of help, its our education which gives us the tools to help and spot children in difficult situations, no matter what the situation or reason behind it may be.

A common argument for grading pupils at an early age is to give them a push. To show them that their hard work is noticed, appriciated and awarded. I can agree that any child who gets a golden star on their paper, or a smiley face and a “well done” on their assignment, automatically grows a couple of inces and it strengthens their confidence. But what about the children who dosen’t get that golden star or that smiley face on their assignmnets, what happens to them?
The answer is that they loose there confidence, some of them more of less give up. They become tired of being the one who always finishes last, that never gets the golden star. In worst case scenario they will start hating school and everything it stands for.

Looking at my own past as a pupil that didn’t always succed with everything, a child which in the begining had problems learning how to read. A pupil that hated when it was time to read out load infront of the class, or take a writting test just to get it thrown in your face that you coulden´t spell. I can clearly say, that if we would have had grades my life would have been a bigger hell then it already was. Getting a grade that would have told me that I sucked, would only have brought me further down into the whole were I already was, it would have destroyed any shreed of confidence that I had left . Who knows what would have become of me, would I still be a teacher?
Grades dont always help sometimes they destroy.

When reading the arguments given in the text above, we can all agree that there are a lot of diffrent aspects that needs to be discussed before deciding if its the right thing to start grading in primary school. Its not a decision that should be made without thought, as shown grades can cause great happines or a feeling of worthlessness. We should protect our children as long as possible against the harsh world that is waiting for them when they are all grown up. As I said once before, grades dont always help, sometimes they destroy.

The game Trival Persuite deserves to be the Christmas Gift of the year 2010

Each year we see expensive and modern technical gadgetts ending up on the top of the Christmas gift list. Gadgetts that are very expensive to buy and that will be out of date in a couple of weeks or months, gadgetts that soon will be forgotten when there is a new technical wounder thing out on the market. Why cant the Christams gift of the year be something more affordable, something that wont go out of stile in a couple of weeks, something that will bring family and friends closer, that will challenge people to learn new things, that will make you laugh and enjoy yourself. The Trival Persuite game deserves to be the Christmas gift of the year 2010, a game that has been around for years and which still amuses people all around the world.

In todays society we are surrounded by technology which is essential for us when trying to cope with todays hectic schedules, but it also has a downside, soon we’re spending more time interacting with computers than with humans. Even in our own homes technology is taking over, we’re speending less and less time with each other and more and more time in front of the computer, the tv, the cellphone. Many families dont even eat dinner together. We need something that brings us together again, that helps us to communicate. What can be better to help us interact with each other than a board game like Trival Persuite which offers fun for the whole family.

Trival Persuite also gives us the opportunity to take a break from todays hectic society. While playing the game we can shut the door on technlogy. We dont need to feel hunted by time or text messages on the cellphone, we can shut it all out. It gives us an oppertunity to relax, to have fun with family and friends so why not give it a chance to become the Christmas gift of the year?

It can be argued that you dont need a borad game to be able to interact as a family, and if you want something that you can gather your family around why not choose a more modern kind of Trival Persuite, like the one you can buy together with the Wii games. I agree its a possibility to buy a tv game built on the board game, but if you choose to use this tv game you’re interacting with the tv and not with your family, you’re turned towards the tv, not your family.

Often the Christmas gift of the year is something that is relativly new on the market, that gets a lot of attention because of its newfound popularity. Trival Persuite is not a new phenomenon its been around for a long time and it may bee argued that because of this fact it should not be choosen as the Christmas gift of the year. But as everything else, things that once have been popular can become popular once more.

As shown through the arguments given in this text, the Trival Persuite game surley deserves to becom the Christmas gift of the year. We’re all in need of something that can give us an oppertunity to interact with family and friends in a enviorment were we feel relaxed, happy and clam, were there is no pressure to be someone else or to hurry to the next task. We need to be able to take a step back from everything called technology, to spend less time infront of the computer or the tv, and more time with our loved ones.