options for students to record videos as well as write papers, and final project guidelines that allow students to create anything that will demonstrate to me what they’ve learned over the term.

Srigley explores a couple of points that I touched on in my article, but didn’t fully understand. This first is what I’ve referred to as the “bullshit factor,” or the ability that my English major friends and I believed we possessed to “bamboozle” our professors with our sparkling prose and strikingly original analysis. It took me into my fourth year to realize that, in my arrogance, I hadn’t realized who was playing who. The professors saw right through our bullshit, but for various reasons were unwilling to call us on it. Instead they coddled us, encouraged us, praised us – and awarded us grades we didn’t deserve.

THE GRADING OF STUDENT

Ifyouhavefoundthecouragetogoawholesemesterorcoursewithoutanygrades,youwillbefacedwithapotentiallyparalyzingproblem:Howdoyoucomeupwithareportcardgradewhenyouhavenogradebook?WhenIfirstfacedthisproblem,IfoundmyselfwritingtoAlfieKohn,whereIoutlinedthatIwashappytoreportthatIhadreplacedeverydaygradingwithrealcommentsandconstructivefeedback,butthatIwasstrugglingwithhowIcouldconvertorsymbolizeallthefeedbackasagrade,notbecauseIwantedtobutbecauseIhadto.Kohn’sreplywastremendouslyhelpful:Myprimaryanswertoyourquestionis“Bringthekidsinonit.”Thisshouldbeadecisionyoumakewiththem,notforthem.Thatgoesforthegeneralclasspolicy(andtherationaleforit)aswellthespecificgradegiventoeachstudent.Someteachersmeetwitheachstudentindividuallyanddecidetogetherwhatthefinalgradewillbe.Others,whoaremorewillingtogiveupcontrolandempowerstudents,simplyletthestudentdecide.Theyinvariablyreportthatstudentsenduppickingthesamegradethattheteacherwouldhavegiven,andsometimestheyevensuggestalowerone.Buttheadvantagesoflettingthekidsdecideareincalculable,andtheprocessalsohasthesalutaryeffectofneutralizingthedestructiveeffectsofhavingtogivegradesinthefirstplace.(citedinBower,2010)Yearslater,Istillabidebythisprofoundadvice.Bringthekidsinonitremainsattheheartofmyanswertoanyonewhoasks,“Howdoyougradewithoutgrading?”First,evenifagradeismandatedforthereportcard,itmakesverylittlesensethattheonlywaytocomeupwithafinalgradewouldbetotakealistofotheraveragesandaveragethemtogethertogetafinalaverage(Wormeli,2006).

Infact,whenGallimoreandRolandactuallyrecordedandcategorized2,326ofCoachWooden’sactsofteaching,theyfoundthatonly6.6%wereactsofdisapprovalwhile6.9%wereactsofpraise(Coyle,2009).Thatmeansthemajorityofhisinteractionswithhisathleteswerejudgmentfreestatementsofinformation

IhavecometolivebywhatAlfieKohnhasidentifiedasBruner’sLaw,whichistosaythatweshouldtryandcreateanenvironmentwherestudentscan“experiencesuccessandfailurenotasrewardandpunishment,butasinformation”(ascitedinKohn,1999e,p.191)

OnceIwasabletomovepastsimplyasking“HowdoIgradebetter?”IrealizedthatIneededtofocusmoreon“WhydoIgradeatall?”Thereisalotofcommonsensearoundwhywegradestudents,butifyoulookclosely,theconventionalwisdomdoesnotmakeallthatmuchsenseandisunfortunatelyalltoocommon

haddecidednottogradetheiressays.Iwasbeamingwithexcitement;theywerenot.Suddenly,theairbeneathmywingshaddisappeared.Myexcitementwaslostonthem,andIwasdisheartened.Butwhathappenednextbothappalledandenlightenedme.Istoodthereatthefrontoftheclassandheardwhatsoundedlikeall30ofthemyellinunison,“Youmeanwedidthisallfornothing?”InitiallyIfeltlikeIhadbeenkickedinthegut,butthenIfeltliketheGrinchwhenhisheartgrewthreesizesthatday.

IremembersearchingtheWebforalternativestogradingandfindinganarticletitled“TheCostsofOveremphasizingAchievement”(Kohn,1999b).ItwasthefirstAlfieKohnarticleIhadeverread,butitwouldbefarfromthelast,anditprovedtobethepedagogicalpillthatIhadbeenlookingfortocuremyailmentsforgrading.Irememberdevouringthearticleandreturningtomygrade8classroomthenextdaywithasenseofrevitalizedurgencythatIcouldnotwaittosharewithmystudents.Thatyearmyteachingassignmentincludedtwoclassesofabout30grade8studentswhomItaughtlanguageartsandscience.Inanefforttointegratethetwosubjects,Ihadassignedmystudentstowriteanessayontheparticlemodelofmatter.Asfarastheyknew,Ishouldhavebeengradingtheirpapers,butIwasabouttoblowtheirminds.Iwalkedintocl

Thepeoplewhohaveahardtimecomprehendinghowchildrencouldlearnwithoutextrinsicmanipulatorsconcernmethemost.Theyaresoinvestedintraditionalschoolingthattheyhaveneverquestioneditsfoundation.Unfortunately,somehaveadistrustfulviewofthenatureofchildren;theybelievethatwithoutgradingtherewouldbenothingtostopchildrenfromrunningamok

Fortoolong,Iwaslettingschoolinggetinthewayofmyteachingandtoomanyofmyteachingpracticeswerebasedonpedagogythatwasatbestunhelpfulandatworstharmfultomylongtermgoals.Throughcriticalquestioningandextensiveresearch,Icametotheconclusionthatmypedagogyhadtorevolvearoundonepriority:learning.Iftherewerethingsthatworkedtosabotagelearning,thenitwasmyprofessionalresponsibilitytoremovethem

IamnotthesameteacherIusedtobe.WhenIstarted,Iwasfocusedonpowerandcontrol.Iassignedloadsofhomework,dishedouthugepenaltiesforlateassignments,assignedpunishmentsforrulebreakingbehavior,andaveragedmarkstodeterminethestudents’finalgrade.IdidsomeofthesethingsbecauseIwastrainedtodosoinuniversity.However,mostoftheseteachingstrategieswerebeingdonemindlesslyand,forthemostpart,IwassimplyteachingthewayIwastaught.

IttookonlysixyearsbeforeIwantedtoquitteaching.Ihadbecomeincreasinglyunhappywithmyteachingandmystudents’learning.Iwastiredoflaboringthroughhoursandhoursofmarking,andIhatednaggingkidstocompletetheirhomework.Insteadofstudentsasking“Whatisthisquestionworth?”Iwantedthemtoactuallygetexcitedaboutthecontent.Iwantedchange,andIcameclosetothinkingthatchangerequiredmetoleavetheprofession

Bruner’s Law -we want kids to regard success and failure as information not as reward and punishment.

It was of interest that all attribute categories of un- creative characteristic~ and almost all attribute catego- ries of creative traits (39 of 42) were suggested by both male and female teachers

The respondents also de- scribed a creative person as one who has a collectivistic orientation, such as one who "inspires people," "has contribution to the progress of society" and "is appreciated by others." These descriptions, found in this sample of Chinese people, did not occur in U.S. investigations (Rudowicz et al., 1995

onventional, " "timid, " "lack of conjidence. "and "conforming. "

imaginative, " "always ques- tioning, " "quick in responding. " "active, " and "high intellectual ability, "

Implicit Theories of Creativity: Teachers' Perception of Student Characteristics in Hong Kong

"self-directed," "curious," "original," "artistic," "intel- ligent," "interested in many things," "exploratory," "unique," "innovative," "flexible," "imaginative," "al- ways questioning," "nonconforming," "challenging," "uninhibited," "independent," "sensitive," "expres- sive," "inventive," and "good at designing."