<p>What do you think of participation grades? I think its stupid... If one does not feel like speaking or is not the type of person that speaks a lot in class and can formulate ideas quickly in his/her head, than I don't think they should assign a grade to it... I think they should write comments if they aren't participating, but not assign value to it</p>
<p>i like participation grades..cuz its an easy grade...but then again i talk a lot in class....and everywhere else..</p>
<p>it sure is helping my grade in ap euro.</p>
<p>I feel for you, and im shy too but its good for u to talk. Id say the best compromise is for the teacher to base grades on the talkative nature of the student and the quality of their responses. Maybe this could get the talkative ones to shut up and think first, and give the shyer types time to formulate an answer...but then again that would make grades somewhat subjective...hmm</p>
<p>What really bugged me this one time is when the teacher took a participation grade, but didn't tell us she was doing it. I didn't bother to participate because I didn't enjoy the class, but if I had known it was a grade I probably would have. I would think that a main point of grading participation would be to encourage participation, but whatever.</p>
<p>Participation grades are good only when the teacher makes an effort to call on every student. It irks me when they call on students who have already gotten more than enough points while ignoring those who haven't, or when they turn their back on one side of the classroom, etc.</p>
<p>haha i love participation grades
except when they do the opposite and give me bad ones for talking too much</p>
<p>It's an easy grade, but it can hurt you if you are just feeling quiet one day.</p>
<p>I like it, but I don't think that people who are naturally shy should be penalized for not participating.</p>
<p>
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but I don't think that people who are naturally shy should be penalized for not participating.
[/quote]
yeah, like me!</p>
<p>You're going to have to come out of your shell eventually, so you might as well have that extra incentive.</p>
<p>o_o It's a way to communicate your ideas to everyone in the future come to think of it. x]</p>
<p>
[quote]
You're going to have to come out of your shell eventually, so you might as well have that extra incentive.
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Nope, I'm gonna work from home</p>
<p>o<em>O; Ummm are you sure you're going to stay at home for the rest of your life? o</em>o;;;;</p>
<p>Participation is the bane of my academic career, I swear. I can be painfully shy in class, so my participation grades always suffer. I mean, a lot of my teachers take other factors besides raising your hand into account in the participationg grade (such as turning in your assignments on time, being prepared in class, etc), but the bulk of it is comprised of talking in class. That's the part that I totally fail at.</p>
<p>I mean, I realize that it's good for me to voice my opinions in front of people, since that's something I'm going to have to get used to in the future. I've tried making goals for myself and forcing myself to participate, but it's still incredibly difficult. </p>
<p>If there's one thing I hate about this fault of mine, it's the feeling of total disappointment I get after a class when I could've raised my hand but didn't.</p>
<p>Participation grades are not good for me. I don't really like talking in class and I'm also not the talkative kind of person.</p>
<p>I don't like participation grades either. For my chem class, participation can boost our grades. I had a B+ and could have got and A-, if I participated, but I'm shy! I don't talk in class very much. And the times I do raise my hand, I'm never called on...</p>
<p>It doesn't make a lot of sense to me to have the participation grade be a significant portion of your grade in classes like math and science. I mean, in these classes at my school, it's mostly just the teacher lecturing in front of you, and there don't seem to be that many opportunities for participation and discussion.</p>
<p>And lovelykittycat - that infuriates me, too, finally having the courage to raise my hand and then be ignored by the teacher in favor of someone else who participates regularly. I mean, teachers should know their classes well enough to know who regularly participates and who doesn't, and it seems kind of pointless to talk about the importance of participation when they don't bother to include the non-regulars.</p>
<p>lol dont u hate it when u hav something to say and u decide it might be wrong, then sum1 says it and they get praise... that makes me mad</p>
<p>Hmmm. Now, I'm coming from a small-town public high school, and this is what I think/have observed:</p>
<p>I have one class where 60% of the grade is for participation, but it's a vocational class (Stagecrafts/Technical Theatre). Lots of the learning disabled kids get mainstreamed into vocational classes (and foreign language classes, which is beyond strange: it's not a grad requirement, and it's a very difficult subject for many kids, including non-LD kids), and the participation grade is one that a teacher can fudge entirely in order to let these kids pass the class. Vocational/technical classes are a grad requirement, and the school has got to get those kids graduated by the time they turn 21. A very heavily-weighted participation grade is reasonable here.</p>
<p>In my AP Calculus class, where 60% of the grade is chapter tests (and another 25% is midterm/final/projects), the teacher takes NO crap as far as retaking tests and turning things in late goes, but he does add bonus points to our midterm and final grades based on how often we (voluntarily) explain/do homework problems in front of the class. Some kids just never volunteer to come up to the board. Their loss. </p>
<p>I have had classes where the "participation" grade is just based on a student's willingness to take part in group activities, behave well and complete in-class assignments. The results of the activities and assignments are tangible measures of the grade, in that case, and shyness shouldn't get in the way of any student's achievement of an A. </p>
<p>I used to be extremely shy (thankfully, that has almost entirely dissipated by now), and there are still subjects in which I'm not in the forefront of every class discussion--physics, for example. I had over 100% in the test category last year in that class, got an A overall, and I could explain concepts to other students if they needed help, but I'd rather listen to a class discussion and then take my time to think about what was discussed than risk confusing (...and humiliating) myself by vocalizing a misunderstanding. (I don't think there was a participation grade for that class, but I do remember worrying about it. Pshhhht. :p)</p>
<p>How else do you get noticed by a teacher to get a good recommendation? If there's another way besides participating, let me know. :)</p>