By: Addison Strack

Grades are looked at in many different ways. Some people consider them a good thing, while others feel the opposite way. This article will be sharing information about how grades, and the grading system, are both positive and negative, and how they impact students.

Pros

There are many benefits to the grading system that can help students in their academic careers. One of the main purposes that the grading system serves is to give students feedback on their assignments and tests. This feedback can help students to improve their work, and learn more about themselves, and their learning style.

Grades also help teachers understand where their students are at in their learning levels. This can give teachers an idea of who might need some extra help, and who understands the assignments.

Another benefit that grades have is giving students a goal, and something to work for. This teaches them important skills they’ll need for their future, such as setting a goal, and making a plan to achieve this goal.

Another way that grades prepare students for the future is by teaching them how to use the feedback they receive.

One final positive about grades is that they are almost universally used, and this makes them fairly easy to understand.

Cons

Although the grading system does have many positive aspects to it, there are some negative parts to it as well.

One of the main downsides to the grading system is that it can cause students a lot of stress and anxiety. Students have a lot of pressure to have good grades from not only parents and teachers, but themselves as well. If students receive a bad grade, this can lower their self esteem and confidence.

According to UOpeople.edu, in a survey, 80% of college freshmen said that their self-worth was connected to their grades. This means that they felt that whatever grade they got determined if they were good enough or not.

Earlier, it was mentioned that students can have pressure from their parents to get good grades. This is because many parents consider grades a reflection of how much their child is paying attention, and/or trying in school. They may punish their children if they receive a bad grade, and this can lead to a strained relationship between a parent and child.

One final downside to the grading system is that it doesn’t necessarily represent a student’s understanding of a topic accurately. Everyone is different, and has different ways of learning and understanding information.

Many students will attempt to memorize information that will be on their next assessment, but don’t actually understand or learn what they are memorizing, and forget a lot of the information after the assessment.

Conclusion

The bottom line is that the grading system has many different positive and negative impacts, and there are many differing opinions of whether it is a good or bad thing. There is solid evidence and strong arguments for both sides of this question, but the answer may never be decided.

If you would like to read more about the pros and cons of the grading system, feel free to check out these website:

• https://fedena.com/blog/2018/07/pros-and-cons-of-letter-grading-system-in-k-12.html
• https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/grading-student-work/#:~:text=Additionally%2C%20grading%20provides%20students%20with,can%20inform%20future%20teaching%20decisions.
• https://www.uopeople.edu/blog/effects-of-grading-system-on-students/
• https://www.thnk.org/blog/3-reasons-grades-bad-education/#:~:text=Grades%2C%20ideally%20 intended%20as%20an,comprehension%20of%20the%20subject%20matter.

by Erin M. Moore

In December of 2021, the Saint Paul Board of Education decided to make the change from Highland’s typical seven-period bell schedule to a four-period block schedule, alternating classes every other day. 

This new schedule provides more elective opportunities, less time spent transitioning between classes, more focused class time, and more time focused on a singular subject.

However, this new schedule decreases break time, classes are no longer daily, and you have to spend more time in classes where you have nothing to do or don’t enjoy. This has been an exponential change for all involved, though staff will be impacted most of all. 

Teachers have had to completely rearrange their typical plans and scheduling for assignments, lessons, and summatives due to this new version of scheduling. “Planning for block scheduling was one of the things that kept me awake at night this summer,” Mr. Martin commented to his class of Algebra 2 students on the schedule for math assignments this school year. 

I’ve had the privilege of talking to many students, all with varying opinions on the change. For example, while Jo Knorr, a freshman, finds the longer class times makes it harder to focus on the topic being discussed, Ash and another student, wishing to remain anonymous, found the longer periods made it easier for them to focus. 

“So I’ve had time to adjust to the block schedule as my previous school also used it, but before that, I had a schedule consisting of seven classes per day. That schedule felt so much better because classes were shorter, everything felt more fun, and it felt like things were completed more quickly. Now, our lunch is shorter and there’s no free time. It feels like way too much,” said Ava Bird, another freshman that recently moved into the area. 

Overall, opinions are mixed on the topic, though from those I’ve talked to on the topic an overwhelming majority is against the change. It’s only been a week of this new schedule so far though, so opinions may change, and both pros and cons will become more apparent. It is likely that by the end of the year, the school will have managed to adjust to this change and will be more comfortable with the 8/2 schedule. Hopefully, by then, it will be easier for students and teachers alike. 

As we gear up for our final moments in high school, many of us are excited and nervous about the next chapters of our life whether we decide to go to college, take a gap year, or do other things. There is a lot to think about during your senior year in terms of classes, careers, and colleges. It’s also an important time to make memories and have fun. Here are some things to look forward to for your senior year.

• Prom – Prom is the most exciting event that most high school seniors look forward to, after graduation. As prom comes around we are excited to show our friends what we are going to wear and the pictures we are excited to take with our friends. Prom allows us to celebrate and create memories with our friends.
• Freedom – Senior year provides a lot of freedom, most seniors take easy classes during their final year and get the opportunity to leave early, or arrive at school late, if they are all caught up on their credits.
• Senior skip day – Senior skip day is celebrated in most schools in America. It’s when seniors get to skip a day of school and do something with their friends.
• Senior all night party – After graduation, and after you go out with your family to celebrate, you come back to school one last time and hang out with your friends all night at school.
• Graduation day – Graduation day is what you have looked forward to since your freshman year. After working hard in your classes and applying to colleges, you’ll be able to graduate with a clear mind!

My senior year of high school was fun. It was great to make memories with my friends that may go their separate ways after graduation. I enjoyed all the fun things we did during the year and I look forward to walking across the stage to get my high school diploma and go on to the next chapter of my life. Congratulations class of 2022!

By: Carla Tizcareno

The Boat Dance this weekend wasn’t as exciting as I thought it would be. Last weekend, Highland Park Senior High hosted a Boat Dance for any high school student that had the chance to buy a ticket for $20-25 during either lunch.

That Friday, it was pretty chilly, but most of the students were wearing shorts or summer dresses. A lot of people didn’t dress very interestingly. It was mostly jean jackets and khakis. There were a few people that showed up in gorgeous dresses and dress shirts like it was prom.

It was made clear that the boat departed at 7pm but it didn’t end up leaving until about 7:30. By 6:50, the lines were super long so it took a while to board the boat.

After departing, the karaoke in the back of the boat began. People grabbed their friends and sang songs by Taylor Swift, Rihanna, and even some Disney songs came up. The karaoke side definitely wasn’t as popular as the front of the boat, where there was a DJ and tons of lights. People were jumping along to the music and shaking the whole boat.

There were some students on the top level of the boat that were throwing chairs overboard. Other than the chairs being thrown, the top level and middle of the boat was pretty calm.

There were two spots to buy snacks and drinks. There were candy bars, nachos and cheese, chips, and Pepsi products. Thank god the water was free because I wouldn’t have survived the night without it.

After a few hours of cold lake air, dancing, singing, and musty teenagers jumping around aimlessly we got back to shore. The DJ played some closing songs as we all got off the boat. People loved stopping at the middle of the sidewalk causing a lot of hold ups.

The parking situation was even worse. There were cars stopping randomly in the lot and in the street to pick up some other students. It took me 20 minutes to even get out of the parking lot. Everyone was pretty much gone by 11pm. Overall, the dance wasn’t all that great in my opinion, but a lot of the underclassmen really enjoyed it. I truly felt like the night was cut short. Was it worth $25? Meh, not really.