Participation Points and Punks

In a nutshell, I hate both.

This is a post I've been meaning to write for quite a while, so I guess I'll elaborate a bit more.

Participation points are the great hoe of of the grade book. They can take the average student's grade and pump it up to a ridiculous level. Never mind grades acting as a measure of aptitude! You can color in a map? Take some points. You read the chapter last night? Have a few points. Points piled upon points, until only minimal skill is needed to pass the class.

Now, I'm not saying that participation points should be done away with entirely. No. A few participation points, when used sparingly and wisely, can give a bit of wiggle room for the stressed student. Participation points, however, should not be enough to raise a D to an A.

This is where the punks come in. If somebody sits in a pool of participation points long enough, they will eventually notice that something is up. As soon as they do, people start riding the system. Remember that kid I told you about a few posts ago? The one who was just going to "have fun" on the final? It was because he felt he had the security of a thousand fodder assignments at his back. Participation points are stupid. The end.


Peace out, readers.