An A For All

Grades are the primary obstacle to learning. I have never had a student ask me what they can do to learn more about a subject. I have had students ask what they can do to get a better grade. Learning requires moving from the known into the unknown. This entails risk. Students hesitate to take risks, though, for fear it will adversely impact their grade. Music conservatory professor Benjamin Zander, who is also conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, deals with this obstacle to learning by giving all his students an A. There is one condition the students must meet to earn the A. Zander explains: “Within two weeks they have to write me a letter dated ‘May next year,’ which should begin with the following words: ‘Dear Mr. Zander, I got an A because…’ In the letter they tell me in as much detail as possible what has happened to them in the interim that merits this exceptionally high grade. In writing their letter they have to project themselves into the future, then look back and report on all the insights they have gained and milestones they have reached as if all those successes were already behind them. Everything should be formulated in the past tense.” What Zander is interested in is who the student has become by next May. Zander says, “I’m curious about how this person looks at life, their view of the world now that they’ve done everything they wanted to do, or become everything they wanted to become." To read some of his students’ reactions to his approach, go to http://www.odemagazine.com/article.php?aID=4124. I also highly recommend reading “Punished by Rewards” by Alfie Kohn. Kohn draws from research to demonstrate the harm done by a reliance on extrinsic incentives.