Are we preparing our children for life as it is?

Or are we preparing them for a life that has no challenges?

Recently I read an article about a Board of Education in Calgary Alberta in Canada. It appears that as of September 2014 that students up to grade nine will not be getting letter grade assessments and have no personal comments made by the teachers. The traditional grades and comments are being replaced with comments like; support required, emerging, evident and exemplary.

I think this is going to be a long-term detriment to all of these students. I state that for the following reasons;
• The younger school years form the foundation for how students think and act later in life, so they will be unprepared for the real world.
• By not understanding that their life or business work will be judged in tough ways, they will fold under the pressure or be stressed out.
• With no personal comments made by teachers, more students will fall through the cracks and into a life of misfortune.
• The new comments idea is vaguer than the letter grade, thus it will keep parents in the dark.

The benefits are;
• The teachers will have less to do.
• The administration won’t need to be accountable for the results the teacher’s produce (well prepared and educated students).

Is this how our future workers or leaders should be taught?