Ssenyonjo Andrew on the New School Grading System: The New Grading System Destroys Alpharism, which is Awesome, he says!
By now, you already know that some schools here in Uganda have already incorporated the new education curriculum for lower secondary school. Additionally, you must have heard that parents and students alike are already confused by the new grading system. Well, Ssenyonjo Andrew, the Ugandan Jobpreneur has said that the new grading system is actually awesome, destroying ‘alpharism‘, whatever that is!
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Importantly, Ugandan parents aren’t the first one to negatively react when school systems are changed. In both UK and US, similar reactions happened when school grading changed from the famous A to F style to the one similar to our newly adopted method where performance is simply rated, not against others in the same class, but against the exact excellence one needed to beat or, just as Ssenyonjo says, against self!
Anyway, without wasting your time, below is the unchanged review by Ssenyonjo Andrew.
Ssenyonjo Andrew on the new grading system!
‘Alpharism means the practice creating highly ranked individuals in a dorminance hierarchy.
The new Ugandan grading system for senior one & two is still confusing for many but it’s the right one.
This is what used to happen. Once the learner took the first position, it didn’t matter what their average score was or their grade, and also the standard of the school in which they are number one. It didn’t matter which methods they used to excel. What mattered was that among all learners in the race, they are the alpha.
What you might not know is that the grading system that is being replaced is rooted in commercial principles. Winning a competition has always fueled people to partake in anything. Creating a system that gathers learners and sets them against each other is good for business. It rewards the psychological desire to be the alpha human and people can invest their time, money and energy with hope that alpharism in academic circles translates to alpharism in the real world. The old grading system was a business strategy selling positions as an indicator for success. Until these academic alphas reach the world of hustle and can’t measure up.
READ THIS TOO: The state of youth and adolescents education in Uganda 2022
The New grading system orients individuals to compete against themselves. The business model of selling positions or alpharism is being crashed and might be creating some discomfort. But it will contribute to creating a better society; a society where individuals don’t feel better because others are unable or less privileged. A society where individuals pursue personal excellence that isn’t based on the state of others.
Some part of society today cannot find happiness because someone out there is better than them. Even when they are improving every day, they still feel inadequate. It’s because success has always been measured based on the status of other humans. You are rich because others are poor. You are happier because others are experiencing difficulties. In other words, you should be happy because you are not facing the worst of situations.
The new grading system will propel individuals to strive at being better in any undertaking than assuming that “better” is based on how others are doing.’
Ssenyonjo Andrew
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