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An "F" by Any Other Name . . .

3:07 PM, Apr 27, 2009 • By RACHEL ABRAMS
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You can rename an "F" whatever you want-call it an "A" if you like-but guess what? Nobody's gonna be fooled. Especially not the failing student whose history you think you are rewriting by calling his "F" an "H." That's "H" for "Held." School districts all over the country are experimenting with this sort of thing in an effort to lower the dropout rate, reports FOXNews.com.

Sherri Johnson, director of programs for the National Parent Teacher Association, said school districts should consider any measures possible to stop low-performing students from quitting school.

"What an ‘F' says is that you just don't get it," Johnson said. "But what if the child gets pieces of it but they haven't mastered everything? Or perhaps that ‘F' says you failed three tests but not necessarily failed the entire skill."

With an "'H"' grade rather than an "'F," she continued, students and parents alike get another opportunity to learn the lesson plan and hold schools more accountable.

Okay, so make that "H" for "Hugged." Not "Hoodwinked," though. For, as many parents are forced to learn-and any decent teacher should know, as well-children, no matter their ages, are perfectly aware when they're being lied to. And that's a lesson they just don't want to be taught.

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