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.