Are AP Language Arts Shark Shoutouts Degrading To Students?
March 7, 2017
As most of Santiago knows, the AP shark shoutouts are rewarded to those who receive the score of a seven, an eight, or a nine on a timed boot camp essay. Physically, the AP Shark Shoutouts are a small piece of cardstock cut in the shape of a shouting speech bubble. On the piece of card-stock, is written the name and the score of the individual who have earned their seven, eight, or nine, and it is announced to the class when someone is receiving a shoutout, and they are bombarded with applause, and the shoutout is stapled onto a wall designated for these shoutouts. These essays are not to be taken lightly, they can be extremely difficult varying on the prompt and in fact are already considered extremely difficult due to their complex structure and prose. So, because they are regarded as so difficult, the AP Language Arts teachers had decided it would be a kind gesture to reward the students who do receive such high scores, which is completely understandable! However, did they take the students who do not receive such scores into consideration or about certain teachers who grade unjustly?
I believe the AP Shark Shoutouts transform the classroom environment into a brutal competition, and it should not be that way. The classroom environment should be a place where everyone has equal opportunity and is treated no differently because of the grades they receive. The classroom should not become a place where the drive of students who are trying to improve their scores, is being eroded due to the repetition of the same students constantly being publicly rewarded on a weekly basis, and yes, the boot camp essays are every week. It extends beyond the classroom as well, when students discuss their scores among each other, comparing a number of shoutouts they have and often boasting about their scores, it absolutely kills the students who have not yet earned such scores. These shoutouts may seem harmless and kind, but consider the other side of the spectrum and anyone can see that these shoutouts degrade students, to a major extent.
Rosario Gomez • Mar 7, 2017 at 3:49 pm
Hi Arsalan,
I am responding to various claims you make in your editorial about our school’s AP Language and Composition program, as well as about us teachers in the program.
Not all of the AP teachers call their “Shout-Outs” the same thing, nor do they all look the same. I encourage you to visit all of the AP teachers’ classrooms to see what their “Shout Outs’ are called, what they look like, and how many they have on their walls proportionate to the number of AP sections they teach.
None of us “grade unjustly.” We are all calibrated to the AP rubric. This program is designed with rigor in mind that actually extends beyond the national standards and expectations of College Board. This is my first year teaching this course, and I have never worked harder in my career than I have for this class. The same is expected of our students. If any student feels that their teacher has graded their essays unjustly, I am surprised that none have brought this to our attention before or why they haven’t taken it upon themselves to get their essays scored by any and all of the other three AP teachers to ensure that we are in fact calibrated. Perhaps that is something that should have been done before writing an editorial suggesting we as teachers are unjust towards our students.
Every student is treated the same in our classrooms, regardless of the AP teacher a student has. Our Professional Learning Community (PLC) is one of very few, if any, on our campus who common plan and common pace. In other words, if a student attends Period 1 with Ransom on a Thursday because they couldn’t be in their regular Period 6 class with Perez on Friday, they are experiencing the same lesson.
If the same students are consistently receiving the “Shout Outs” it is because those students have earned them, but that is in no way an indication that other students who do not consistently earn them can never receive a “Shout Out.” As you already stated, achieving a high score (i.e., 7, 8, 9) on an essay is a very difficult task, so these students are being recognized for their hard efforts. We as teachers have prepared all of our students to achieve the same high level of writing abilities, but it is up to all students to reflect on what they need to improve on as individuals ( a process we facilitate in class after every timed writing) and practice those skills by the next timed writing. We offer tutoring after school and during office hours every week, so that all of our students have access to getting the help that they need to improve and achieve those high scores. In the words of Ms. Ransom, “You only get out of it what you put into it.” So to all students who feel that the “Shout Outs” are degrading, perhaps you mean they are discouraging and a wake-up call that you too are capable of earning them, so why not start now?