[monster]

It does apply to grades in school. It shouldn't. This is so relevant to me now.

My daughter is just about to enter high school. She's been in a public but "alternate" program all her school life, where the main difference to regular school is emphasis on co-operative rather than competitive learning. "Open" School. You are only compared to your previous performance, not to other students. you are encouraged to revisit/strengthen what you have learned through helping/tutoring others. This school regularly gets high rankings and grades when school comparisons are made, so they are clearly not failing their students. There is an "Open" High School, entry is by lottery -this year over 400 students for 100 places. Hebe is 24th on the wait list which means she has a fair chance of getting in, so I started really researching it. It has the best ranking of all the schools in the area, is consistently top 10 in the state (out of about 800) -up against private schools who select on educational merit. What makes it so awesome? Learning is not a competition. it's a challenge and a community enterprise. It's not about being the best in school, it's about being the best that you can be.