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The fool’s corner resurrection is just one of the many unforeseen things 2020 has thrown at us, and possibly the worst because it was so easy to avoid.
I am in my third decade of teaching, a job that I really love. I am excited to see students as they progress, and it is a privilege to witness their personal growth as learning occurs. Knowing that you have played an active role in their development brings phenomenal job satisfaction, but the icing on the cake is when they take the time to tell you.
During the confinement I received a message from a student I taught more than a decade ago. She had been using the time in isolation to find people on social media and reconnect with them. He updated me on his professional career and ended his message by thanking me for the lessons from so many years ago.
“He encouraged us to include everyone and treat everyone with respect, dignity and understanding. That class helped me with my social and social skills and for that I am grateful. Most teachers will tell you that when they meet former students years later, most of the time it is more than the course content that they refer to in their memories.
For more than 20 years, I have actively avoided communicating openly to any student that, in my opinion, they are the last of the class. As a result, the most difficult professional task I have ever had to complete was the calculated qualification process for Leaving Cert 2020.
All my qualifications and experience tell me how inappropriate it is. Grading reliability aside, what is the purpose and validity of grading students? And, if there are any, where is the value of the student knowing their ranking?
This was the plan until last week, when the Department of Education received legal advice on publishing class ratings after a backlash from teachers. Now it is unclear if students will get this data right away.
Regardless of this, did it not occur to anyone that there would be students who would definitely learn that they were considered last in the class in all subjects? They sat in their Leaving Certificate classrooms for almost 18 months, to find out exactly how many students were in each of their groups. The brutality of the coup that this information could bring to some young people cannot be hidden.
If posted, will those who get a series of first-place rankings show their achievements on all social media? Will newspapers, as in previous years, feature students who achieved the highest number of H1s in the entire country? And will coverage extend to those who are highest ranked across the board as well?
Most likely in reaction to that, each year in August there is a flood of social media posts reassuring students that the Leaving Cert results they just received do not define them. While that’s undoubtedly true, a part of me has always felt that results place some value on a tangible performance and that we shouldn’t underestimate what it means and what could be learned from it.
The greatest strength
My mantra has always been that everyone in front of me can do something well and I will find out what that is before our learning journey is over. Often the greatest strength is not study, but a soft skill, a human quality that many peers will take years to perfect. With some shame, perhaps, I admit that the opportunity to build and cultivate personal relationships year after year is what I like best about working in schools.
There is a guaranteed new cohort each year when the early years roll in, and we celebrate the end of a six-year journey when the Leaving Certs graduate. In that senior cohort there may be students we have taught for six years (although in our school we try to give students the benefit of different styles and approaches from teachers when possible) and others we have never taught. but that we know by reputation (good or bad!).
When mentioned by the staff, the different names elicit different responses: the wow, the sigh, the eyes to the sky, and quite often we laughed at incidents and jokes when we had to suppress our smiles and maintain our authority in front of the students.
With a minimal number of exceptions, the colleagues with whom I have shared faculty rooms hold their students in the highest regard and are looking forward to them finding their best for the world of postsecondary school.
And so, for the 2020 Leaving Cert students, and on behalf of all the teachers who share my outrage, here are my thoughts on how crucial it is that they don’t let the “results” they receive define them:
Do you remember the relationship we had in class? Because that’s how I remember you. Let’s keep it that way.
This grading process involved a small proportion of your education that was never supposed to count for anything anyway. Goals were changed for us as teachers too, so we know more about how you feel than you realize. Despite any pain, anger, or disappointment you may feel when you see the results, remember this:
The teachers didn’t want to do this.
The teachers didn’t think this was a good idea.
The teachers struggled with this task.
Committing to this task has not tarnished our memories of the time we spent together, and we hope the results do not cloud yours.
Many education experts have spoken openly about their concerns about this process.
You really are so much more than what the results tell you, and this is more true at Leaving Cert 2020 than in any previous year.
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