RE: Education philosophy & Grading message

[Marc Richardson <MRichardson@jaeoregon.com>]

Dear List,

I don't have anything of great significance to add to the raging debate over
education. I am not an educator in the formal sense although one of the most
important and satisfying elements of my job is showing the less experienced
the intricacies of the quality discipline. I do, however, have some
questions. If I am repeating questions already posed, please bear with me, I
haven't been able to follow all the posts regarding this subject.
Mr. Miller's point is an excellent one. We can't separate the American
educational system from its larger social and political context. That
context is one of unbounded materialism where the term "shark" is used with
admiration. If we are to believe even a portion of what we read and hear, it
is evident that we are a driven society, working longer and harder
(smarter?) than ever before. My own experience corroborates this. There is a
certain aggressiveness in today's work force that I don't recall when I was
starting out some thirty years (has it really been that long?) ago. The
question, albeit a rhetorical one, then is, what type of educational system
will this type of society produce? Is it possible to reform education
without first altering the fundamental tenets of an ultra-capitalistic
society? Perhaps it is by reforming the educational process that one reforms
society. 
If there are no tests, how will we know that the teachers have taught and
that the students have learned? If there are no grades, how will that affect
an individual's motivation to do more than what is required to get by in
order to realize their full potential? Is that motivation inherent in that
type of individual? Without grading, how will society distinguish the
citizens most able to lead its government and industries? I wonder if the
people who are so ardently opposed to grades are also proponents of outcome
based education and other similar curriculum.

Regards,

Marc W. Richardson
Senior Quality Assurance Engineer
Email: mrichardson@jaeoregon.com
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