Disgusted
I've always hated the idea of judging someone's worth based solely on their grades. Maybe it's because of the scars left by my childhood.
Back then, corporal punishment was a common parenting style. My dad grew up being disciplined by my grandfather, and in those days, it wasn't unusual for elders to casually slap a child for any perceived misstep.
Growing up in this environment, I worked tirelessly to meet the sky-high expectations my elders had for my grades. But no matter how hard I tried, it was never enough.
Scoring in the 80s?
"How could you be so stupid and get such basic questions wrong?"
Scoring in the 90s?
"Why are you only second in class? You should be first."
"Even pushing myself to 99?"
There's no middle ground—it's either perfection or failure. If you didn't get 100, you're worthless."
In their eyes, the world was black and white. There was no room for shades of gray, no space between perfect and imperfect. And I could never reach that elusive “perfect.”
I never got the validation, the hugs, or the sense of belonging I craved.
In their world, “good” didn’t exist—only “better.” I came to understand that no matter how hard I worked, I'd never meet their expectations.
That realization made me reject, even fear, the idea of endlessly striving for improvement.It was a world of criticism and punishment, devoid of encouragement and support.
I felt utterly hopeless.
Eventually, I concluded: What's the point? If I don't try, I'm trash. If I do try, I'm still trash. Hard work seemed meaningless.
The Irony
The irony of it all? I've spent most of my career working in cram schools, places where grades are the ultimate currency. These cram schools live and breathe the “grades are everything” philosophy.
Parents pay for results, and the easiest way to measure results is through better test scores.
If a student’s grades don't improve, parents will complain or simply pull their child out. They'll switch teachers or move to another cram school.
Cram schools keep meticulous records of every student's grades—midterms, finals, mock exams—you name it. If a student's scores don't improve or, worse, drop, their teacher gets called in for a “talk.”
Actually, scratch that—it’s not a “talk.” It’s a "friendly discussion."And by "friendly discussion," I mean getting chewed out. Supervisors and managers will sarcastically criticize you, questioning your competence with remarks like, "Why aren't your students improving? Are you even doing your job?" Then they'll ask you to write a report explaining how you plan to fix it.
That's the environment I work in—a world where grades are everything. A student's test scores aren't just their KPI; they're mine too.
It’s a ridiculous reality, but it plays out every single day in my job.
My Approach
As for me, I can't stand this results-driven, grade-obsessed mindset.
I had enough of being pressured to achieve good grades when I was growing up.
I despise the obsession with grades, and I know how soul-crushing it can be.
Grades should not be the goal.
I still remember the overwhelming disappointment of failing to meet those impossible expectations. I don't want my students to feel that way.
That's why I never set grade-based goals for my students. Instead, I give them achievable, actionable objectives, like memorizing five new words a day or mastering one magazine article a week.
If they complete the task, they check it off, and I give them positive feedback.
Finding a Balance
That doesn't mean I haven't struggled with the grades-centric culture. After all, I work in a system that equates efficiency with grade improvement. It's a constant numbers game.
So how do I balance my principles with the demands of the system?
I train my students to surpass the difficulty of any exam.
When their skills are far beyond the test level, grades take care of themselves.
I’ve stopped focusing on grades. Instead, I put all my energy into building my students’ real abilities.
I start by helping them develop solid study habits and teaching them effective learning methods. I consistently monitor their progress, check whether they’ve completed their tasks, and evaluate how well they’re doing—making adjustments along the way.
I usually begin with the basics: listening to textbook passages and magazine articles, reciting them aloud, completing in-class test papers, sentence imitation exercises, and practicing past midterm exam questions. This ensures they have a firm grasp of their school material.
Once we’ve mastered the in-class content, I introduce more advanced materials—English picture books, short stories, novels, and reflective writing. I also encourage them to listen to international news programs like VOA and BBC with me.
The process starts with stabilizing their midterm grades by mastering the fundamentals. Once that’s achieved, I guide them toward extensive reading of English stories and novels, daily journal writing, and reflective reading exercises. This builds their overall English ability to a level where they can face any exam—whether it’s a school midterm, a mock test, or a standardized exam like the GEPT—without fear. If time allows, we even dive into English speeches and debates.
The balance of input versus output depends on each student’s ability: for some, it’s 7:3, for others 6:4, or even 8:2.
And let’s get one thing straight—no one escapes speaking and writing practice!
Learning a language is all about trying to express yourself. It’s like learning to ride a bike—you can’t claim you “know” how to ride just because you can talk about it. You have to get on the bike and actually ride.
The Bottom Line
My goal is to push their abilities far beyond any exam’s difficulty. If I can achieve that, I won’t have to write reports or endure “concerned” conversations with the headteacher—which, let’s be honest, is just a nice way of saying “getting chewed out.”Call me clever if you want. At the end of the day, the school and parents only care about results, so they won’t question my methods as long as the grades are there.
Unexpected Wins
This approach has led to some surprising successes. For example, I’ve had students who started in the 60s during middle school and worked their way up to the 80s. By the time they reached high school, they were maintaining scores in the 90s.
Typically, students who score in the 80s in middle school see their grades drop to the 70s or 60s in high school. But my students? They did the opposite—they improved.
Perhaps it’s because we laid the groundwork early on with extensive reading and focused training, giving them the skills to excel in high school. Who knows? Either way, it’s proof that this strategy works.
A Dream Job
Honestly, this approach has been a game-changer. The company and parents only care about results, not how I achieve them. So, I focus on what I enjoy—discussing English novels or international news with my students.
Where else can you find a job that lets you read your favorite books at work and discuss them with curious young minds? It's a dream come true. I get to watch my students grow while doing something I genuinely love.
This is the dream job！
緣起
我很討厭用成績論英雄
這可能跟我小時候的創傷有關
我那年代的父母，還滿盛行打罵教育的──父母的權威就如高懸的鐵鞭
我爸爸也是被我阿公打長大的，那年代長輩隨意乎巴掌真的不意外。
在這樣嚴苛的氛圍中，我竭力去滿足長輩對於成績的期待。
但是好像怎麼努力都沒有用
考八十幾分
「你怎麼那麼笨，錯這麼基礎的題目。」我爸憤怒地拍桌子
考九十幾分
「為什麼只有班上第二名，你應該要考第一名。」不悅地皺眉頭
拚到九十九分
「不是成功就是失敗，沒有一百分就是個廢物。」大聲咆哮中
好像長輩中的世界，只有黑與白；只有滿分和沒有滿分──完全沒有灰色地帶
我不斷追尋肯定、擁抱與歸屬感，卻始終徒勞。
我永遠拿不到我想要的
那是一個「好」永遠必須更好的世界
我永遠達不到長輩的期待，那個「更好」的境界
當我明白這點的時候，可想而知，我對於精益求精，好還要更好這種話的
排斥、憤怒以及恐懼
這世界上只有打與罵，沒有肯定與支持
當時，我絕望了
在這樣的教育觀念中，我得出了一個結論：反正不努力是垃圾，努力也是垃圾。
努力是沒有用的
諷刺的是
諷刺的事情是，我人生大部分任職於「升學補習班」
所謂的升學補習班，是成績英雄論
家長繳錢要求效果，而效果最直觀的就是成績進步
成績沒進步，會被家長客訴，或是直接不補了；換老師，換補習班
「升學補習班」會登記每一位學生的段考、模擬考成績。當學生段考或模擬考成績沒有起色，或是掉下去的時候，帶他們的老師，就會被叫過去電
噢！不
是被叫去辦公室，和主任、老闆「友好的討論」
呵呵呵
呵呵呵呵呵呵
呵呵呵呵呵呵呵呵呵
也就是說，我待的地方，就是成績英雄論
學生的成績就是我的KPI
這荒誕的現實，該死的在我的工作中上演。
P.S.所謂的「友好討論」，實際上指的就是被訓斥。主管冷嘲熱諷地批評你，質疑你的能力，諸如「你的學生為什麼沒有進步？你到底有沒有在念書？你到底有沒有在用心?啊是會不會教」之類的話。隨後，他們還會要求你提交一份報告，詳述你將如何改進。
我的作法
我就是很討厭這種以成績為目標的觀點 (`へ´≠)
我受夠了小時候被要求成績了
目標，不應該是成績
還記得，我青少年時期沒有達成目標成績的那種沮喪感
我不希望讓我的學生也收穫這種沮喪感
所以，我給學生設定的目標，從來都不會是成績
而是，他們願意做就一定能夠做到的，具體可行的 (根據每個人的實力而不同)
例如：每天背五個單字，一個星期弄懂一篇英文雜誌
有做到，就打個勾，給予肯定
迷茫
其實，對於成績英雄論，我也掙扎過、迷茫過。畢竟，我是在講求「效率」的升學補習班上班。所謂的有效率，就看你的學生成績上升幾分
這個大環境就是要求成績
怎麼辦呢？
解決策略
我想到一個辦法，只要我把學生實力拉到比考試難度還要高很多的程度
那他不管考什麼，我都不用怕了
所以我的目光就不放在成績上了，而是全力幫學生拉實力
先培養學生讀書習慣、給他讀書方法，固定督促、檢驗他有沒有做，和做的效果如何(滾動式修正)
我通常會先帶他們聽課文、聽雜誌、朗誦課文、朗誦雜誌、寫課內考卷、課內造樣造句、學校段考考古題(課內基本盤先穩住)
如果課內都上完，我就開始上英文繪本、英文故事、英文小說、寫英文閱讀心得，和他們一起聽國際新聞VOA, BBC等
先讓他們熟悉課內，段考成績穩定之後，就讓他們大量閱讀英文故事、小說，寫英文日記、英文閱讀心得，把他們的實力整個拉起來，這樣面對考試，不管是學校段考、模擬考、全民英檢等考試，都沒在怕的。還有空就來個英文演講、英文辯論
我輸入和輸出的比例，視學生的實力而定，有的是7:3，有的6:4，有的抓8:2
不要想給我逃避英文口說和寫作
呵呵
學語言一定要試著表達(就像是學騎腳踏車，難道我說著一嘴好腳踏車；都不用會騎，會說怎麼騎就好了)
總之
總之，把他們的實力拉到比考試難度還要高很多的程度，我就不用寫報告
也不用被叫去被主任「關懷」了，就是去被罵啦
我真是個小機靈鬼
山不轉路轉，反正公司和家長要的就是成績，不會管我的教學內容
意料之外的收穫
執行這樣的策略之後，有的學生讓我感到驚喜。例如，有些學生在國中從6X被我拉到八X分，到了高中後，卻能穩定保持9X。
通常國中8X，一般同學高中會掉到7X或6X，結果我的學生逆向成長？
或許是因為國中時期已經進行了大量的英文閱讀與訓練，為高中的進步奠定了基礎？！
夢幻工作
最讓我心滿意足的，莫過於上課時能與學生一起討論英文小說。這種能在工作中光明正大閱讀自己喜歡看的小說、與學生共享閱讀樂趣的工作，簡直是一場夢！
上班光明正大看小說，還跟客戶一起看、一起討論
啊哈哈，真是太棒了
這工作我要做一輩子
結論
教育的本質不該是無止境的追求分數
而是培養學生良好習慣、建構世界觀，和學會什麼叫做學習
