I have begun to anticipate the reasons people will offer for why we can’t do something like No Grade November, why it’s not possible to take such a big step, and why it just won’t work. Here is my developing list of can’ts, won’ts, and impossibles.

Parents won’t support it.

Teachers won’t support it.

Principals won’t support it.

Superintendents won’t support it.

School boards won’t support it.

People won’t get on board. We have to have everybody on board.

We can’t stop the learning.

We can’t just stop grading for a month. We have to grade. It is part of our professional/contractual responsibility.

Kid won’t do anything.

We can’t take the time away from curriculum and instruction. Calendars are set. Scope and sequence are set. We have priority standards to assess.

We can’t waste the valuable time we need to prepare for the state test.

Kids won’t pass the state test, and our scores will drop.

We won’t know if kids are learning.

We won’t know if teachers are teaching.

Kids and teachers won’t take it seriously.

It’s not possible to do something as radical as giving up grades for a month.

We can’t disrupt the learning process.

Kids won’t be ready for the next class in the sequence.

We can’t damage the integrity of our institutional practices.

It’s impossible at the high school level: kids have to earn credits, their GPA will be affected, and it will impact their chances at college and scholarships. And what about the valedictorians and salutatorians?

We won’t get back to normal after such a disruption.

We can’t fight the system. It’s a waste of time and energy.

It’s not possible to change education.

I am sure there are more, but for now, these are some of the objections that come to mind. Tomorrow I will provide my developing responses–my possibles to the impossibles.

Happy Tuesday, all.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.