This year the Saskatoon Public School board has implemented an new and more friendly way of marking. No deduction for assignments handed in late, and of course no consequences for plagiarism. It’s no wonder kids are growing up thinking that they are not accountable for their actions. During a radio interview of an “educational expert”, he hoped that all Saskatchewan schools would become enlightened and start using this report card system.
Once again common sense and reason have left the building. In the real world, that we all live in, our jobs demand timeliness and accountability. Without it what would get done? There already is an understanding that each student’s situation may be different and they may have a good reason for handing in an assignment late. If a student is sick or a family emergency occurs, most Saskatchewan teachers are more than fair, and already take special circumstances into account.
What about all the students who did take the time to finish the assignment on time. This type of marking is completely unfair to them. It is unfair to all the students. How will they understand that in university or college plagiarism will get you a zero and possibly kicked out?
We should teach them the fundamentals of life during school, including what is expected and required to get good grades. This learned behaviour will then translate into real world success later on in life.
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