(above) Senior Kevin Koenitzer shows his frustration over a bad grade.
fter all tests have been graded, a teacher will instinctively put the grades online. The website that holds these many numbers has come to be known as the site that determines the type of student a child is, the site that some Darien parents visit all too often, the site both students and parents alike rely unhealthily upon: Aspen. Over the years, Aspen has developed a new feature: now parents or students can type in a grade and decide to be notified immediately via email should a grade fall below that threshold. Parents can also insert a grade and be notified should their child receive above that score. However, this new attribute has received mixed reviews from Darien High School students and faculty.
The new feature became known to most DHS students and teachers after senior Jay Alter reported on it during one of his “Blue Wave News” segments.
“I never really interject my own opinion on “Blue Wave News” so for once in my life I wanted to talk about something I was passionate about,” Alter said.
At this point in time, a parent or student could only choose to be notified should the student receive a certain grade below the threshold. After hearing many of his classmates complain that their conversations with their parents concerning grades were always negative ones, Alter decided the Aspen feature needed to be changed. Alter believes that adding an additional part in which parents or students could choose to be notified if the student gets above a certain grade is the first step in turning the constant negative conversations about grades into positive ones as well. A few weeks after the airing of the segment, Alter was informed that his wish had become a reality: when parents or students sign onto Aspen they can choose to receive notifications for grades below or above the selected threshold.
Although this addition was beneficial to the program, when Aspen is misused, the effects can be disastrous. Head of the Guidance Department Paul Ribeiro said that some parents put the same number in for both spots of being notified if the student gets above or below the grade. Therefore, every time a new grade is put in Aspen, the parent will immediately get an email. When such an emphasis is put on grades, English teacher Suzanne MacLehose says, “we lose sight of how well we’ve mastered a concept.”
Furthermore, faculty members worry that parents will become too involved too quickly. Riberio says his only concern with the new feature is that parents will skip the step of talking to their children before getting involved and instead start by talking to the teacher about a bad grade. “I don’t want them to use this in lieu of communicating with a teacher,” Riberio said. Some parents may be emailed about one bad grade and completely overact, immediately calling the teacher to find out about what happened rather than talking to his or her child first. He believes students need to learn to advocate for themselves before a parent gets involved.
MacLehose agrees that, “I would like to see a parent sit down with his or her child and say ‘How’d you do today?’” According to MacLehose, allowing the student to come to his or her parent first about a bad grade will allow the kid to explain what happened whether he or she didn’t study enough, was distracted, got too nervous, or received the highest grade in the class and it was simply a hard test.
With college right around the corner for most DHS students, learning to motivate oneself to talk to teachers about bad grades is extremely important. In college, parents will not even receive their child’s grades so if the student cannot manage his or her own workload, the effects can be detrimental. “College is about being your own person,” MacLehose said but what remains unclear is whether or not the new Aspen feature inhibits or enhances a DHS student’s opportunity for this newfound independence.
Aspen really hasn't been around that long - read about its beginnings by clicking here.
