Trust in grading, no matter if they’re your friends, you’re still harsh.

Excitement, fear, nervousness, and dissapointment are just some of the emotions that are in a highschooler's head when grades approach. I'm in the last 3 when it comes to determining my emotions. However, in my school we get feedback from peer students on what grade they think someone should get, which isn't something you would think would happen. Some key things in giving this feedback is that you have to be honest and treat everyone the same. For me, its a little surprising to see this.

Think about it, a couple of minutes before, you're chatting with you're friend about that new "Deadpool" movie, and in the next few minutes you're receiving intense feedback from him/her that doesn't seem natural. If I have to give brutal feedback, I'll give it, even if they're my friend and this happens vice versa. This is what the culture of trust is to us.

The culture of trust. In the grading sense, we're honest with each other, and we're not afraid to be negative when we have to be. We also know not to overcompliment if we're friends and that creates the trust in the class.

Recently I was giving feedback to a good friend of mine about their performance in class. The shift from talking about movies to giving detailed negative and positive feedback didn't seem so difficult. I turned from friend to judge. I began to treat my friend as a stranger and just talk about class-related stuff. It was an unconsciousess shift in personality. This change of mind is what interests me so much, as simple as it sounds. I may sound silly, but whatever.

I was never used to this system and I'm still surprised to this day on how it works. Not only do students discuss with teachers on grades, but students too. Never thought a student could have so much freedom in a class. I've grown in giving better feedback and I do consider the evidence I give feedback from. Now I've realised that I can shift from being a friend to a tough grader when I need to be.