A New Kind of Classroom: No Grades, No Failing, No Hurry

[treehuggnlibrul]

1. This would have changed my daughter's life

She is mild to moderate dyslexic and ADD with auditory processing and anxiety being her worst obstacles to learning. She was doing too well for an IEP in elementary school, and entered middle school with gaps in her learning because there "wasn't enough time for mastery."

In third grade, her worksheets always started out well but midway through it was like she just started filling in any answer. Turns out that kids who didn't finish their work sheet had to stand against the wall at recess, and the anxiety of that made her fill in anything just to get done.

High school was a disaster. She was cutting. Spiraling down and our pleas fell on deaf ears with the administration. It was never about learning, it was about grades and homework and playing the system. Counseling, tutoring... none of it helped.

We finally moved her to a unique small high school out of our district. She graduated a year late, but she did it with sheer determination. She was changed and demoralized by her experiences in school and we are still picking up the pieces. The schools described above are growth-mindset and learning focused. She would have thrived in that environment.