Blog Post Week 1

I found both articles for this week to be very intriguing.  The thought process for this class is very different than any other class I have taken.  I found it particularly interesting to hear about some of the reasoning about grading.  It is very different to think of grading from “the other side.”  I have always been the student striving to get the grades but have not ever really stopped to think about the reasoning behind how a teacher or professor decides the grading guidelines.  It was a little hard for me to grasp the thought process though of grades not being positive reinforcement to encourage students to learn more, and in some instances actually being negative reinforcements to learning.  Overall I feel the Grading –Kohn article opened my eyes to completely evaluate the grading process, not just to for effectiveness at evaluating the students but also how it will impact the students learning.  The second article by John Dewey was a very different article for me to read.  It was very difficult to understand the logic behind his writings.  I did not totally agree with his idea of school needs to very smoothly transition to what is being taught in the home.  In my opinion different things are learned in different settings and trying to mesh them all into one would hinder the learning of certain materials.  He also greatly values the societal learning, which I would say has its place but should not be the basis of all education.  I did however agree with how Dewey wants teachers to realize that they are social tied to the students and need to consider where their place and education fits into the student as a whole.