In-class grading extends teaching process
by Bernie Scheffler, ne news editor

    The Supreme Court ruled last week that teachers are not in violation of a federal privacy law when they ask students to trade papers and grade them in class.

   Personally, I think the decision was absolutely fair. Grading papers in class hardly seems an invasion of privacy.

   The thing that amazes me, however, is that the case actually made it to the Supreme Court.

   Was it really necessary to waste the time of our nation’s highest court with such a trivial matter?

   Surely even the least ethical lawyer (hey … that wasn’t meant to be funny) would have second thoughts about accepting a case like that.

   Kristja Falvo, the Oklahoma parent who brought the case to the Supreme Court, said that the court does not understand what her son must endure because “the justices are not what you’d see as someone struggling in school.”
Huh?

   What she probably intended to say is that the justices are intelligent men who probably made good grades. Thus, they did not need to worry about being ridiculed by classmates for poor scores on class-graded assignments.

   Falvo complained that, as a result of the class-grading process, students in her learning-disabled son’s class called him “dummy” and “stupid.”

   Perhaps they could more accurately have called him “son of stupid” or “dummy’s boy.”

   Falvo’s complaint is ridiculous. She obviously does not understand the issue at all.

   Allowing students to grade each other’s papers in class is not the root of the problem. The true cause of the problem is that her son, who is learning-disabled, is in a regular-education classroom.

   Special-needs children deserve teachers trained in special education. These teachers and their classes are bound to be more sensitive to a learning-disabled student’s difficulties.

   Most people don’t realize it, but grading assignments in class is more than just a way for “lazy” teachers to save themselves some time.

   Besides, even if it were simply a time-saver, do teachers not deserve to practice this option?

   Are they expected to spend evenings grading assignments when they should be relaxing and recovering from classroom stresses?

   The practice is not just a short cut, though. It is also an important learning tool.

   Grading assignments in class actually reinforces the material being taught.

   The practice gives students an opportunity to go over the material again while it is still fresh in their minds.

   Also, as the court wisely pointed out, it gives teachers a chance to show students how to assist and respect their classmates.

   The students who ridiculed Falvo’s son were almost certainly reprimanded by the teacher, assuming that he or she heard the comments.

   I just hope that in the future, Falvo and parents like her take more time to consider all possibilities before accusing teachers of wrongdoing.

   Everyone should remember that educators are trained to do things a certain way for a reason.