By Maysen Marolda
Staff Writer
Mira Costa Advanced Placement Biology teachers Yoon Hearn and Jessica Bledsoe recently implemented a “grit” grading system to be included as 10 percent of student’s grades in order to acknowledge students work ethics.
At the end of last school year, a small group of teachers from the science, history, english and math departments convened with Costa Principal Dr. Ben Dale to discuss how they could implement the eight soft skills of: adaptability teamwork, problem solving, grit, effort, communication, critical observation and conflict resolution, as extracurriculars such as Model United Nations have already done so, but Dale does not know if other teachers have. Hearn attended the meeting and then discussed the possibility of implementing a grit grade with Bledsoe.
“Through the grit grading system, I hope that students will utilize certain skills such as teamwork and cooperation, and not so much on the grade,” Hearn said. “Sometimes I think students are so focused on getting a good grade that they lose out on learning, and other skills are not emphasized.”
Hearn and Bledsoe are still determining how they will assess students’ grit. They will likely grade students through individual or group projects that will test students’ ability to think on the spot and apply problem solving skills in order to solve the challenge. They do not know how successful grit grading will be, but do not believe that it will be able to hurt a student’s grade if the student is determined to work hard.
“If a student has a lot of courage and grit and a fortitude, that really gives me a lot of respect to that student,” Hearn said. “Through the grit grading system, maybe there is a way that I can put that into a grade as opposed to just admiring that student.”
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