29 Lingua-It: (10) Awarding of Diplomas
In my “General Assessment” (Blog 20) of Lingua-It, I mentioned as rather over-enthusiastic the practice of awarding “diplomas” accompanied by fulsome praise to anyone who had attended for however long or brief a period. The students don’t have to sit a test, nor do they have to finish the course. So someone who attends for a week is given a round of warm applause and a certificate, as is one who attends two weeks, three weeks, and so on. Everyone -- students and teachers-- gathers together. The instructors make or listen to speeches and everyone applauds each student receiving a diploma. I am reminded too much of cruise ship personnel who exude cheerfulness as they cheer off one set of disembarking passengers while cheerfully welcoming the next set!
I also think of evening classes, subtitled “Study with a Friend,” sponsored by the school board of my city, where at the end of a course one is given a diploma stating that one has attended the course! As befitting the diploma’s true value, namely that it signifies nothing beyond attendance -- these “diplomas” are handed out without any enthusiastic celebration. At Scuola Leonardo, Siena, they don’t indulge in any such make-believe diplomas, because there is a government sponsored examine one can sit when one has reached the necessary level.
Maybe I am too much of a Puritan (or just a grouch). Perhaps some people like to receive a “diploma” however ersatz it might be, or perhaps they need it to take to work to validate their absence. So if you are comfortable with the practice, don’t mind my objection. Frankly, I think the present system undermines any aura of seriousness to which Lingua-It can lay claim. If need be, the school could proffer letters of incompletion stating that the student has completed so many weeks of the course and inviting that student back to finish it at a later date. Those who have finished a course could receive a “diploma” for that level -- provided that the level of that student has been assessed. This can be done by in-class reviews of work rather than any heavy-duty tests. I think such an approach would give legitimacy to a happy and friendly event that could carry some significance but sans the frenetic “cheerfulness”.
I also think of evening classes, subtitled “Study with a Friend,” sponsored by the school board of my city, where at the end of a course one is given a diploma stating that one has attended the course! As befitting the diploma’s true value, namely that it signifies nothing beyond attendance -- these “diplomas” are handed out without any enthusiastic celebration. At Scuola Leonardo, Siena, they don’t indulge in any such make-believe diplomas, because there is a government sponsored examine one can sit when one has reached the necessary level.
Maybe I am too much of a Puritan (or just a grouch). Perhaps some people like to receive a “diploma” however ersatz it might be, or perhaps they need it to take to work to validate their absence. So if you are comfortable with the practice, don’t mind my objection. Frankly, I think the present system undermines any aura of seriousness to which Lingua-It can lay claim. If need be, the school could proffer letters of incompletion stating that the student has completed so many weeks of the course and inviting that student back to finish it at a later date. Those who have finished a course could receive a “diploma” for that level -- provided that the level of that student has been assessed. This can be done by in-class reviews of work rather than any heavy-duty tests. I think such an approach would give legitimacy to a happy and friendly event that could carry some significance but sans the frenetic “cheerfulness”.
posted by Reynold Harrs at 5:55 PM
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