Reasons to Place Less Emphasis on Grades

Writing in the Harvard Business Education site, Gerald Knesek argues that instructors should focus less on grades and more on cultivating a desire to learn in students. To avoid the stress on grades which he sees as impeding learning, Knesek suggests that we adopt the principles of Maria Montessori and create the conditions to foster a love of learning. This would require a major shift in our thinking about the role of grades in the educational system. It is just this major shift that is necessary if we are to move beyond the educational arrangements adopted during the industrial era where the mechanisms of motivation and control in schools mirrored those in factories.