the new meaning of "5"

In the school where I teach, Mapua Institute of Technology, a grade of "5" means that the student failed to make the cut.

A failure.

I absolutely agree with putting meanings in one's experience. But my beef with the "5" is that almost all students wrongly associate this mark to themselves and not to the true culprit.

Let me be clear about this, if you happen to be a current student - failure is an event and never a person.

Ok?

Peace? :)

Now, I wrote about Khan Academy in the past. This is a website that shows mini-lectures on science, mathematics and economics to name a few. For someone in the Philippines, I use the site to complement the learning sessions I facilitate in the four corners of my classroom at Intramuros, Manila.

In one of the talks that Mr Khan gave, he was surprise to see data that supports a narrative that after having a hard time in a particular subject, students' learning curve always accelerates once the 'hump' was mastered. In the context of a school that espouses 10-week academic terms, this 'hump' could be seen in the transcript of records of students where a course was repeated more than twice.

But because of the foreboding and mistaken meaning students associate with a "5", the drive of the students to honestly go over the 'hump' fizzles and students more often than not, chooses to go over the 'hump' through the less than respectable ways of cheating, of OTs, of appeasing their professors and all other means necessary.

Though that may sound creative, innovative and noble, if you put in the hardworking parent angle. But in reality it is sad and not right. The student miss out on the acceleration of their learning curves when one honestly conquers the 'hump'.

And most student never experience this acceleration, this character-building, which is by the way, what they truly paid for in school, because to them a "5" means that they failed.

So, let's put an end to this limited meaning of a "5", strengthen the sensitive and fickle self-worth of students so that it will not be abused by wolves hiding in professors clothes and update what "5" truly means base from the findings of the Khan Academy experience.

From now on, a "5" means "Not yet. Maybe next term."

"... why think like mere men?"