do marks encourage students to learn

20110201093 Fair Koo
Plan 5
Introduction: marks are widely used as a measure of a student’s school work. Its impact is profound.
Main body:
Marks encourage students to learn:
1. widely accepted way to assess the school work & the easiest way
2. makes it clear how work is done and adjust oneself to do better
Marks don’t encourage students to learn:
1.low grades may lead to self-downing
2.too much pressure & forcible
3.too focus on the marks to develop other skills
Conclusion: marks don’t necessarily encourage students to learn
Do marks really encourage students to learn?
Marks as a measure of a student’s school work is widely accepted by our society, and in some schools, it’s the only standard. This phenomenon exists for its reason, but is it true all the time? Do marks really encourage students to learn?
It is usually an issue of controversy. Some people take no hesitation to claim that marks do encourage students to learn because they make it clear how well a job is done and students can see that. With the results, the marks to be exactly, students can adjust themselves to do better and it’s a crystal clear result. Among people who support the viewpoint, the major argument is that giving students marks is the easiest way to measure their school behaviors, so it’s widely accepted. It’s hard for teachers to keep an eye on all the students and supervise what they’ve done besides studying before assessing a student, considering the imbalance of number between them.
As for the same issue, we also hear many different voices. A large number of
people oppose to the above opinion by saying that marks don’t necessarily encourage students to learn. They do have their own reasons. In their belief, if marks can encourage a student, it can discourage a student easily, because if it’s the only way to measure student s’ school work, then low grades may lead them to self-downing. They regard it as an extremely important way of assessing themselves, and then pressure and dissatisfaction set in. Under stress, students tend to learn things forcibly but not willingly or eagerly. What’s worse is that students may focus too much on the marks to realize the importance of developing their own interests and other needed skills. In a word, the chances of students becoming bookworms are strong, and they may know how many planets there are in the space without knowing how to tie their shoelaces.
To be frank, it’s very difficult for me to say which one is 100% right as both opinions make some sense. But I still find myself in favor of the latter idea. I don’t take this side for nothing. A strong evidence is that those who are considered successful didn’t necessarily do well in their school work and get high marks, but still, the desire of learning is there. Marks do can be a standard, but it’s not the only one. If we want to learn, we don’t need to take the number on the paper at face value, we will learn despite all the things. Only learn out of willingness and interest, can we learn more and go deeper. Students should stop staring at the grades given, and figure out what is the best way for them to learn. Learn initiatively but not forcibly.
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