I received a package this week, delivered to my home. Within a few hours, an email from Australia Post arrived in my inbox. It read:
“We’d appreciate a few minutes of your time to provide feedback on your experience. This helps us improve our delivery service to you so next time it will be even better.”
In our modern age, we are constantly being asked to review products and services, no matter how brief the encounter or mild the service. In the last few weeks, I have been asked to review a restaurant, a clothing store, an airport lounge, an Uber trip, a phone call to an electricity provider, and even a public toilet!
Sometimes I long for the days when you could buy a product or service and were not expected to leave a review.
Another worrying trend is that there is an expectation that everything should get a 5-star rating. Anything less and it may constitute a phone call from a worried manager.
Perhaps this reflects a concern that anything less than a perfect rating is a terrible rating. 4 stars instead of 5 stars somehow indicates something is very wrong. I know I am guilty of being quite judgmental of businesses based on reviews. When I am in an unfamiliar town or city, I will use Google reviews to locate the highest-rated cafes and other businesses. 4.9 is my cut-off point!
Unfortunately for some of our students, they also can feel deflated if they receive a less-than-perfect mark or rating on their work or in their reports for the ticked boxes. Parents can become concerned unless there is a neat column of ticks all on the far-right side.
It is tricky for educators to strike a balance between providing honest feedback whilst also enabling students to feel empowered to improve.
As school reports arrive home, we want students to know that they are more than just a series of ticked boxes, rankings, marks, and comments. Each student has the potential to improve and exceed our expectations.
Teachers have provided many useful suggestions as to how students can improve, and I encourage students and parents to note these and implement them into their daily habits. Results should not define us but encourage us to continually improve and grow.