Students have to face lots of challenges, and many young people feel stressed most of the time. The current grading system may seem unfair as it makes people focus on their grades instead of learning new things. I do not find it that monstrous, but the system still may be improved slightly. I do not see an alternative to grading as it is a way to understand the level of knowledge in some disciplines. However, I agree with Dr. Dweck that it is time to stop seeing issues as a failure. It is possible to provide grades, but it is also important to mention specific areas for improvement.
Dr. Dweck’s speech made a great impression on me and made me reflect on my own school experiences and my current mindset. According to this TED speaker, students feel they are complete failures and do not want to move on (Dweck, 2014). The psychologist also stresses that it is important to make young people develop the “growth mindset” (Dweck, 2014). I am happy to be the one who has this kind of mindset. Without knowing about the power of yet, I always tried to learn hard whenever I received a low grade. However, even with this approach to studies, I sometimes felt I failed.
Millions of children feel that way most of their time at school. They do not have growth mindsets, and no one shows them other ways. Teachers simply focus on grades and try to reward excellent performance, but it is high time to reward the process and effort. I do not think my school life would have changed if Dr. Dweck’s approach was used when I was a high-school student. I was lucky to have a winning view of the learning process, but the adoption of these principles in the educational system would be beneficial for millions of American students now.
Reference
Dweck, C. (2014). The power of believing that you can improve [Video file]. Web.