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| Photo by Melissa Lodhi |
Curt Isakson
One of the most compelling points bought across in this book, and what has stuck with me the longest, was the concept of giving an ‘A’ for a particular project to free one-self of the grade, and to let a person fully experiment, fail, or succeed without the worry of getting a bad grade. I believe this can be a wonderful way of letting loose the chains that bind us creatively.
I find myself in this course having to make decisions about whether I do what I really want to do (which usually is more involved), or just make sure I fit the criteria for the grade. Many times I have made the conclusion that I want the grade and have not taken it as far as I wanted to. The projects I am most proud of though are the ones that I really didn’t care about the grade and did what I felt was right in my mind.
This course has used this concept many times, and I use this same idea in the classes I teach. A ‘no-fail’ approach to some of my learning environments really brings out the best in my students.
My Response
As a teacher, I provide many opportunities for students to do creative projects that have an automatic "A" as long as they put in the work. This works especially well with choreography projects and film projects. I like for them to experiment and I find that the creativity and effort levels on these projects are excellent. In other teaching situations, though, I find that I need the motivation of the grade to push them to complete the work and to do a thorough job.
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