Words from a PowerSchool Proponent

According to an email from our Principal, Dr. Finan, sent to students and parents on March 16, the Glenbrook administration is conducting a study on “the gradebook and its impact on student wellness.” The study (April 4-April 28) will involve restricting students and parents from accessing PowerSchool during school hours. This has inevitably caused a knee-jerk reaction from the student body, which Finan anticipated in the email, encouraging critics to “try to see beyond first impressions.” A slew of publications cited on the Gradebook Impact Study’s website indicate that student stress has grown immensely over the past decade. However, I along with many other students believe that there is a grievous flaw in the logic behind the proposed survey. The administration is attempting to simplify a very dense and multifaceted problem by restricting student freedom.

The stress students feel is neither created nor perpetuated by digits on a screen. The stress students feel is explicitly caused by an urgency to succeed. Delaying exposure to grades will not inhibit this stressor, but will rather generate suspense as the waiting period is prolonged. Clearly, if the intention is indeed to reduce stress, putting students in a state of suspense is not an appropriate solution. Performance now is critical to students’ futures. Students should have the freedom to monitor their educational advancement as they see fit. Depriving students of this deserved freedom will not alleviate the pressure they feel to succeed. By the same logic, we should disable the scoreboard during basketball games.

On March 10, GBN staff gathered 20 students (less than 1% of the school) to discuss the proposed study. According to the study, the students agreed that “the gradebook [is] a serious problem [affecting] their well-being.” Students were then asked to create visual representations of the “gradebook experience at GBN.” Believe it or not, less than half of the portraits actually included the word “PowerSchool.” Rather, the majority of pictures reflected the struggle to succeed, critiquing the pressure put on a young person in a self-determined capitalistic society. The drawings were simple, but moving. Many students are feeling crushing pressure. If you, my reader, are one of those students, I applaud your perseverance and hard work. It will pay off.

I am by no means belittling the stress on students. I am a student that has struggled with anxiety, especially over school. Believe me, I know the fluttering of the heart that occurs as soon as someone announces that a grade has been entered. This feeling, I concede, is a pitfall of having limitless access to PowerSchool. However, is this feeling not the same as when checking the varsity roster? Awaiting an employer’s decision? The raw truth is, results are just a part of life. It is important for students to recognize that it’s their choice to disclose the grades they received or enable notifications. It is unfair to deprive the entire student population of a logical right only to serve the best interest of a select portion.

I sincerely hope that the administration gives notice and legitimate consideration to my stance, and reconsiders their decision.

-junior Ari Bosse