“Students Speak” offers a platform for Westport students to speak out about issues of importance to them.
Ella Turner is a sophomore at Staples High School. She serves Inklings as paper editor and editorial board member, and is part of the Graphic Design Club. Last summer, Ella explored media writing at Vogue Summer School and investigative journalism with the New York Times program.
Ella has studied at Alvin Ailey’s dance intensive in New York. She is a member of the senior company at Westport’s Academy of Dance, performing shows like “The Nutcracker.” Ella writes:
I quit tennis when I was 10 years old.
As someone who couldn’t stand the stress of constant competition, I told my mom that competitive sports just weren’t for me and started a career in dance.
After a while though, my little self realized that in any activity, there would be a level of healthy competition. I slowly adjusted, realizing that it could actually push me rather than hinder my progress.
Ella Turner
At school however, I loved to be in competition with myself. That meant harder classes and more stress. As most Staples students do, I would stress about tests, then worry about the grade I got.
You’d think that would be the end of it. However, once I receive my grade, I am forced to add another level of stress to the already mountain-high stack: the stress of telling others how I did.
Grade sharing is a common occurrence at Staples, to the point where I share and compare my grades with classmates in every class. For most students, it is the norm. It is customary that the second you receive a grade, you feel obligated to share it.
Even when I try to avoid disseminating my grade, I’m often asked outright by others. Sharing grades is now a part of the academic process at Staples, and I, like countless other students, don’t bat an eye at it. But recently, I have wondered why this is the case.
Some of the blame for the increasingly public nature of grades at Staples is also one of my unfortunately cherished pastimes: checking PowerSchool. Despite the ease that technology has created, students having full access to their grades at any time of day is a risky power. Rather than avoiding the question, or avoiding discussing grades altogether, there’s always the ability to “just pull it up!” — a phrase I am sadly guilty of.
A significant portion of the pressure to share grades stems from the desire for comparison. The culture at Staples is undeniably a feeling of constant preparation for college and the workforce. This leads to yet another feeling that each grade is the defining factor in a student’s future success.
This culture not only enables unnecessary anxiety, but also creates an underlying sense of competition, the kind that can drag a student’s self esteem far down without them even realizing. If they get a bad grade, they need the reassurance that it was still an average or above average grade, and that they are not falling behind others in the constant race to an unknown finish line.
Once a grade is out in the open, whether positive or negative, there are serious underlying consequences that students put on themselves. If my classmate aces an English essay, there becomes this expectation that they are good at English and should be living up to the bar they set for themselves. Effort becomes judged by a letter rather than time and energy. And once stereotypes and expectations are made, breaking those assumptions can feel impossible.
It’s understandable that comparing grades with peers can be exciting, and many people don’t feel uncomfortable with that level of openness. But it’s also important to take into account that many people need a level of privacy when it comes to grades, whether they say it out loud or not.
Rather than asking “What did you get?,” forcing students to reply with a letter grade, try instead “How was the test?” or “How did you do?” This will enable students who are uncomfortable to respond indirectly, which provides a sense of comfort that as of now, not many students have.
As a sophomore who has 2 more years at high school, that means I will be comparing and sharing my grades, whether I am comfortable or not with the idea.
As a community and a school, I believe it is important that we take a step back and reassess the motives for constant grade sharing by asking ourselves: Is sharing your grades for the benefit of others, or the benefit of your self-validation?
(To submit a “Student Speaks” — or for questions about this feature — email 06880blog@gmail.com. We will work with students — at Staples, private schools or home-schooled — to help craft their story. Anonymity, if requested, is assured.)
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