Do students really need letter grades?

   Do we really need letter grades? Some people say yes when others say no. I will talk about whether we really need these letter grades and the pros and cons of not having letter grades. I will be talking about my point of view and why I think that we do need letter grades.

   

   Universities like law schools of Berkeley, Harvard, Yale and Stanford, all ready have changed their system of marks. University of Toronto Law is thinking of following their example. (A, B+, B, C+, C, D, F) were changed into five broader categories of marks; High Honours, Honours, Pass, Low Pass and Fail. For two years the University of Toronto Law for  two years have studied on how to make students less worried about their marks and enjoy what they’re learning. They say that by getting rid of letter grades the students get less stress. But will it really change anything?  "Pass/fail system can help reduce students’ anxiety over marks" is what they say. Will it really? Students will just not be aiming for the A. Students would just be aiming for the High Honours. Wouldn't student's still have the stress of trying to get good marks? How will the government know whether it is a good idea to change the marks system?

Pros

   Answering some of these question need a little bit of thinking. Some people say that by changing the marking system we are allowing people to excel at what they want and not thinking about the marks. They also say that it is an easier way to categorize people and Alexis Archbold, assistant dean of students says that “it’s good advice for your career”. I found that people who think that this new grading system is a good idea say that it gives them more peace. The people who think that a new grading system is good also think that by making the grading system only into five categories not seven people there will be less stress because of the lack of different marks. Since there is only five categories to go to students have less stress because most people will fall into the same category. People will be able to say “Oh! I passed you only were one category higher than me instead of “Oh! You’re so lucky I only got a D but you got a C.” Aren’t they really the same thing? By dividing the grading system into larger categories people agree there will be less stress because there is less to strive for.

Cons

   For me it seems that High Honours, Honours, Pass, Low Pass and Fail marks sounds just more sophisticated than the (A, B+, B, C+, C, D, F). There isn't much of a difference. Either way the students know what it means, and they pretty much have the same amount of stress either way.

I figured out that in the end it’s just the same. The difference between Pass and Honour seem pretty different. High Honours and Honour is like comparing an A+ to and A. There isn’t much of a difference, but a Pass compared to an Honour is quite different. It is similar to a C+ (Which is what I think of an average pass) to an A. It seems to me it give you more stress. Passing and Honours is too much of a jump. It seems like the new grading system is actually asking more from the students. Rebranding is what the new grading system seems to me. It doesn’t matter what happens to the grading system, you know whereabouts each mark is and High Honours sounds just like an A+.

My opinion of the grading system is that there shouldn’t be a change. What is the point? Not all students think the same. Some people could get even more stress from trying to achieve the High Honours. Studies show that the human brain always tries to reach a certain goal. So not matter what the mark is called us humans can’t help but want the best. Pass seems like someone just passed and Honours sound like someone excelled at something. Why are these two right beside each other when there is so much of difference? I think that changing the grading system will do nothing for lessening the amount of stress on students.

Sites I used: http://oncampus.macleans.ca/education/2012/04/23/u-of-t-law-school-adopts-new-grading-system/

http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1163267--yoga-foot-massage-and-dogs-this-is-law-school

Lunch Limits

The stores around Fraser Heights Secondary (Starbucks, Subway, DDDN, etc.) are very fortunate for having us. Why? It is because to them, Fraser Heights Secondary is like a gold mine. If the school were to close down, the stores would lose the hundreds of teenagers buying lunch every day. So why do the teens buy lunch? There are many reasons, including things like forgetting to bring lunch, forgetting to make lunch, and the occasional treat. Most parents/guardians know that they buy lunch and allow them to do it sometimes. Even though parents have given permission, some schools don't trust the parents letting kids buy lunch or even making lunch themselves. They want to prevent obesity and get students to eat healthier. Schools are wanting all of the students to eat in the cafeteria and only the foods they sell. This can cause huge problems because of  financial, choice, and other issues. 

Some students don't buy lunch not because their parents don't want to waste money or become fat, but it is since that they are in a financial crisis and owe a lot of debts. The other reason is that they are part of the hundreds of new immigrants coming to Canada annually. They wouldn't have a lot of money since they are new to Canada and may have problems buying food. Buying food everyday can make you lose a lot of money and then, people will start eating less, or not eating at all.

Every day I bring food to school to eat, my food is healthy, and I am not obese. I rarely buy lunch, about once a month and that is since my parents don't have time to take me out to restaurants. Most of my friends buy food once a week, sometimes more, but they are not obese either. If the school were to force us to eat in the cafeteria, neither me nor my friends would be able to eat at stores. No donuts, frappuccinos, pizza, or other treats. Only healthy food.

There are other things that could happen if students are forced to eat in the cafeteria. The cafeteria would have to change its  menu and make the menu larger for more choice. They would need more cooks and food to provide hundreds of students food. They would also have to rebuild the cafeteria and make it larger to serve food faster. The stores around the school would also have a great decrease in customers. Students and parents would also start protesting since they dislike the way that the school thinks that they have control over the students.

A public school is not a day-care center. We do not pay the school to take care of us, so why would they have the right to control what we eat? That is something a parent needs to do for their child. The better way of solving obesity is being more active (physically). The school could try to get their students to walk/bike to school if they live close. They could also tell students to exercise more, though that usually doesn't work.

 In conclusion, schools shouldn't have the right to tell students what to eat and what not to eat, and parents should control their kids more. A good parent would already have given their child restrictions on what they can and cannot do.

Sources:
http://oncampus.macleans.ca/education/2011/04/26/the-state-has-no-place-in-the-lunch-bags-of-a-nation/

Should post secondary institutions require mandatory physical fitness as part of their educational program?

Should post secondary institutions require mandatory physical fitness as part of their educational program? All first year students that are part of the Burnaby polytechnic’s computer programs have mandatory gym time. They are required to be inside the campus gym by 8:30 a.m. to sign an attendance sheet. If they don’t attend, they would not graduate even though physical education has nothing to do with technology. Many find this insulting because they are the only group of students on campus that are being forced to be physically active. Now, a petition asking that the mandatory gym class be dropped has dozens of signed names.

Brian Pidcock, the associate dean in charge of computer students, has a different point of view from his students. He thinks that forcing the students to exercise is for their own good. He finds that people tend to sit for hours and hours in front of a computer, especially in computing. He also said that programming was very time consuming and tiring so his intentions were good. The format also offers lots of choices. They can do any exercise or even walk around the track and it’s not like high school physical education, where you sometimes are forced to do something you don’t want to. More than 50% of the computer students disagreed with his point and one presented a petition in his lectures and labs.

Most students taking computer programs had the opposite point of view of Brian Pidcock. They thought that it was important to bring fairness and equality across the board for all BCIT students but it currently has not been happening. It was something that was not forced upon anyone else. Many said that they were adults and should be given the option of taking care of their own health and spending their time. Many also agreed that the practice of isolating computer students for physical education was based on stereotypes. For these reasons, the students created a petition.

Both sides of arguments have strong reasons stating either if they want to continue to have mandatory physical fitness or to not keep the class. Having the intention to help others stay healthy is great but letting others have their own decisions on their health is better since everyone has the right to control their life and choose to have other ways to stay healthy. Since the petition showed broad- based opposition, a curriculum committee will soon decide whether to keep the class at all.

Sites Used

http://cupwire.ca/articles/52695

http://oncampus.macleans.ca/education/2012/04/20/mandatory-gym-ctrl-alt-delete/

CE Post

Recently the government has presented "Bill 36". One of the ideas that’s included in this bill is "year round school" or "balanced calendar". There are always pros and cons to every idea, so lets take a look.

    Some people think this "balanced calendar" is great! They believe that by having less time between breaks (like summer vacation) helps you not to forget everything you learned the previous year.  Most people, (like me) decide to let loose, and not bother reviewing anything, or try not t o think of the word "school" over the summer holidays. This is what causes you to forget what u learned. By having more breaks throughout the year means we will have a shorter summer vacation giving us less time to forget. Apparently some people think we are bored through the summer, so after school activities throughout the year will kill time.  This will also make trips more affordable for families since flights are usually more expensive during the summer, so this makes it easier and more affordable to take trips not during the same breaks as most other schools.

  There are also just as many cons as pros if not more AGAINST year round schooling. First of all, camps and or summer programs will suffer considering how we will have less time in the summer to actually GO to camp. So eventually they will deteriorate and go out of business. Secondly, when we are in school during July it will be extremely hot in the school and especially in the portables, and most schools DON'T have air conditioning causing us to be very sweaty and uncomfortable during school. Also some kids' parents work in other school districts causing them to be on totally different schedules, which will affect the homes of families.  Costs will go up for schools since you will need air conditioning, and use light and such more often. Lastly, if you have children who are in different schools and only one is doing year round school, it will be harder to organize vacations both kids can go to. 

   I personally think using a "balanced calendar" isn't the best idea since i agree with most if not all the cons, but hey, people are entitled to their own opinion.

  Sources:

http://childparenting.about.com/od/schoollearning/a/year-round-school-pros-cons.htm

http://712educators.about.com/cs/reformtime/a/yearrounded.htm

http://lifestyle.iloveindia.com/lounge/pros-and-cons-of-year-round-school-3964.html

Do Students Really Need Letter Grades?

Yes, people may ask, “Why do we need letter grades? Students are still learning without them.” Letter grades may be essential for you but needless for others. A new grading system was created in U of T, the argument of if the system is necessary has presented. So ask yourself. Do we really need letter grades? Here is the problem, benefits, losses, and how I see it.

University of Toronto spent two years studying on how to reduce students’ stress about marks. They came to a point which they could be the first school in Canada to substitute the traditional letter grading system to a wider range of pass and fail. The University of Toronto Law faculty wants to change; they want a system with categories consisting: High Honours, Honours, Pass, Low Pass, and Fail. Few law schools in United States like Stanford and Yale already used a similar system.        

According to teachers and leaders of U of T this new grading system can reduce student’s anxiety over their marks. Instead of students worrying if the information is going to be on a test, they want to provide a space in which there is no pressure and students can actually understand more deeply on their learning. From their point of view, their idea is students will learn better without any pressure of marks.

Here is another question asked among people who disagrees with this idea, “Does this new system really reduce students’ stress?” This new system is just like the traditional grading system, but with more considerate names. A+ and A to the High Honours, B and C+ to Honours etc… Students are not stressed over the grading system but over their process in school. It does not matter how you change the grading system, students will continue to stress about their grades as long as they are getting a poor mark. Watch the video

First put aside my opinion of the new system, it might be very difficult just to carry out this new system. It is hard to say if any school in Canada is going to follow this new grading system. Honestly, I think the new grading system is unnecessary. Students need a little bit of pressure in order to do well in school, a motivation. I like the traditional system better because you can atleast know more specifically about where your skills and participation in class are at. However this new system cannot tell you precisely where you are at, it is an “about” range. I will be stressed if I get D or F in school but I will also be stressed if I get a low pass or a fail. They are somewhat the same thing, so I think it is pointless to change the system. 

Sites I used:

http://oncampus.macleans.ca/education/2012/04/23/u-of-t-law-school-adopts-new-grading-system/

http://cupwire.ca/articles/52673

Draft Copies

Guys,
Publish your posts properly.
you guys posted as a draft so I can't see your posts on the actual blog.,

CE Writing

This week I am going to be writing about the pros and cons of the "Year-round" and "Balanced" calendar. I am going to talk about the definition of "Year-round" and "balanced" calendars, and the pros and cons along with what I think.

           The definition of the "Year-round" and "Balanced" calendar is that, like we discussed in class, will not increase the time we are in school. As we discussed in class there are a certain numbers of days we have to be in school for and we will still have the same amount of time in school, it is not like we will have more or less school, it is just that our breaks will be spread out in different places. One and the most chosen example of an "Year-round" calendar is 45-15. This means that students will be in school for 45 days and then gets 3 weeks off not accounting for weekends. The normal breaks like holidays will be put into the new calendar.       

           A couple pros to the "Year-round" calendar are that some students forget all that they learned over the long summer break, where as the shorter breaks the students will not forget as much. This system also makes students are engaged in a number of after-school activities, to kill their boredom, because the activities would keep them busy during the 3 week break. Now it is possible for families to plan shorter trips to different places instead of one long trip once an year. I'm not saying that these are the only advantages, I just listed a little bit of it.

           A couple of arguments against the "Year-round" calendar are that some schools are older and do not have air conditioning, so during the summer time the schools are going to be quite hot. So for people who can't concentrate in the heat is not going to learn as much or stay on focus as well. An argument against the "Year-round" calendar is that student are going to forget some information even if they are out of school for 3 weeks. If a parent has two children and one of the two children is on the "Year-round" school system and one is on the "Traditional" school system then it is harder for the parent to plan a vacation. And like the pros these are not the only arguments against the "Year -round" calendar.

           Right now for me I don’t think it will affect me a lot but when I need to get a summer job or job experience later on in high school it may affect me, unless the learning curriculum changes, it will affect me. Right now, in grade 8, I actually don’t mind the "Year-round" and "Balanced" calendar. Overall I don’t really like the idea of "Year-round" calendar, especially because in the summer time I can barely focus on my work in the heat. So my final answer to the new system is no. I do not want the new system.     

Source/Bibliography

Kelly, Melissa. "Year Round Education." About.com 8th May 2012

<http://712educators.about.com/cs/reformtime/a/yearrounded.htm>

"Pros And Cons Of Year Round School" iloveindia.com 8th May 2012 <http://lifestyle.iloveindia.com/lounge/pros-and-cons-of-year-round-school-3964.html>

Invite

Aren't we supposed to invite Ms. Lees too?
Also could someone make me admin?

wasn't me and david and justin and you that was supposed to be admin?

Welcome

Who wants to be admin?
And what should the name be?