{"id":647,"date":"2021-01-28T12:44:53","date_gmt":"2021-01-28T20:44:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.sandiego.edu\/character\/?p=647"},"modified":"2021-01-28T12:50:41","modified_gmt":"2021-01-28T20:50:41","slug":"in-defense-of-nonacademic-skills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.sandiego.edu\/character\/blog\/2021\/01\/28\/in-defense-of-nonacademic-skills\/","title":{"rendered":"In Defense of Nonacademic Skills"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Experts, teachers and students have said that including non-academic factors into grades and not giving students second chances to learn or make progress can contribute to unfair disparities in grades<\/i><\/span>.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span>\u2014<\/span>SDUSD<\/span><\/p>\n

MY STORY<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

The pressure was on.\u00a0 <\/span>If things worked out, I would be the first child in our family\u2019s history headed on the road to a college degree.\u00a0 <\/span>The trip did not begin well.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I hit a speed bump in my first year in school\u2014kindergarten, no less.\u00a0 <\/span>I flunked it.\u00a0 <\/span>But the school district had a \u201csecond chance\u201d policy so they let me repeat it.\u00a0 <\/span>Two years in kindergarten\u2014can you imagine what that did to me, psychologically speaking? <\/span><\/p>\n

In grades 2 and 3, I was in, what my teacher called, a \u201cpull-out\u201d program. \u00a0 <\/span>It had something to do with my reading skills.\u00a0 <\/span>Three times a week I left my class for an hour, walked down the hallway to another classroom greeted by another smiling teacher.\u00a0 <\/span>I knew I was in trouble because there were no girls in the class, just five guys.<\/span><\/p>\n

Next, junior high school (grades 6-7-8).\u00a0 <\/span>My teachers didn\u2019t appreciate students who didn\u2019t pay attention, looked bored, never said much in class, had an attitude of \u201cwhy are we studying this stuff,\u201d and claimed no \u201cresponsibility\u201d for these attitudes.\u00a0 <\/span>They \u201cgave\u201d me grades between C- and D-.\u00a0 <\/span>A quote from my 8<\/span>th<\/sup><\/span> grade English teacher: \u201cThis is the third paper I have corrected.\u00a0 <\/span>I am running out of red ink.\u00a0 <\/span>You still have trouble with grammar, spelling, and punctuation.\u201d<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

My teachers, following school policy, failed to include in my grades the nonacademic side of my life, where I know I was getting A\u2019s and B\u2019s (okay, at least C+s).<\/span><\/p>\n

I worked.\u00a0 <\/span>To help out at home, my father got me a paper route.\u00a0 <\/span>I delivered the local newspaper to 110 customers, six days a week, two-hours a day, and extra-time on Saturdays collecting weekly payments in rain, sleet, snow, and the summer heat.\u00a0 <\/span>I also played basketball and softball in two city leagues.\u00a0 <\/span>I was learning non-academic stuff\u2014how to budget, how to manage my time, how to communicate, how to be responsible (except for schoolwork), how to be patient, and how to accept the consequences for the choices I was making.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In high school, I didn\u2019t do much better.\u00a0 <\/span>I gave up the paper route in my sophomore year and took a job in a shoe-store as a \u201cstock-boy” and, when it was really busy, I sold shoes.\u00a0 <\/span>(Stop here and reflect on the numerous \u201cnonacademic skills\u201d I was learning there.)\u00a0 <\/span>I learned four things\u2014patience, perseverance, the value of discounts, and that I had no future in the retail business.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

My teachers \u201cgave\u201d me low grades because they were under a mandate not to consider \u201cnonacademic factors\u201d (my strength) when assigning grades. \u00a0 <\/span>Learning the subject matter was all that counted.<\/span><\/p>\n

My grades didn\u2019t change much, but I did get into a local college on probationary status.\u00a0 <\/span>(It is not what you know, it is who you know.)\u00a0 <\/span>To no one\u2019s surprise, I flunk out of my freshman year.\u00a0 <\/span>I had eight professors\u2014four each in my first two semesters, who gave me failing grades and no \u201csecond chances.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>(I have their names.)<\/span><\/p>\n

On my way home to give my parents the bad news, I visited the military recruiting depot.\u00a0 <\/span>Then things changed\u2014nonacademic skills paid-off.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I want to share with you what the experts say about the relationship between learning academic content and learning nonacademic skills<\/b> (character traits and social-emotional learning, for example.)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Aspen Institute in this report presents these \u201cFast Facts\u201d:<\/span><\/p>\n