Johns Hopkins University Press
Failing Our Future: How Grades Harm Students, and What We Can Do about It
Key Metrics
- Joshua R Eyler
- Johns Hopkins University Press
- Hardcover
- 9781421449937
- 8.5 X 5.5 X 0.88 inches
- -
- Education > Elementary
- English
Secure TransactionBook Description
An indictment of the grading system in American schools--and a blueprint for how we can change it.
One of the most urgent and long-standing issues in the US education system is its obsession with grades. In Failing Our Future, Joshua R. Eyler shines a spotlight on how grades inhibit learning, cause problems between parents and children, amplify inequities, and contribute to the youth mental health crisis.
Eyler, who runs the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at the University of Mississippi, illustrates how grades interfere with students' intrinsic motivation and perpetuate the idea that school is a place for competition rather than discovery. Grades force students to focus on rewards and distract them from exploring ideas or pursuing interests beyond what they'll be tested on. In fact, grades significantly impede the learning process. They are also significantly affecting children's physical, emotional, and psychological well-being. Rates of anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation have spiked, and academic stress tied to grades is a leading cause of this escalation.
Eyler shares success stories of grading reform efforts that are already under way as an antidote to the harms caused by the practices currently used in educational institutions. Equal parts scathing and hopeful, Failing Our Future aims to improve the lives of students by encouraging them to define success on their own terms. Parents, educators, policymakers, and students will find in these pages a rallying cry for change and a blueprint for how to implement reforms in our homes and classrooms.
Author Bio
Dr. Josh Eyler is Director of Faculty Development and Director of the Thinkforward Quality Enhancement Plan at the University of Mississippi. He previously worked on teaching and learning initiatives at Rice University, Columbus State University, and George Mason University. His research interests include the biological basis of learning, evidence-based pedagogy, and disability studies, and he is the author of How Humans Learn: The Science and Stories behind Effective College Teaching (West Virginia UP, 2018).
Education
- Ph.D. in Medieval Studies (Emphasis: Medieval English Language and Literature)
University of Connecticut, 2006
- M.A. in Medieval Studies (Emphasis: Medieval English Language and Literature)
University of Connecticut, 2002
- B.A. in English
Gettysburg College, magna cum laude, 2000
Source: University of Mississippi
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