On effort and achievement

One of the big ideas in education these days is that much more important than the final ‘official’ grade is whether or not you did your best and achieved the best you could achieve in your own ability. In less enigmatic terms, this means that a D achieved by a student of low ability should be celebrated as much as an A* achieved by a very able student, and they should be equally praised and proud of themselves. I am all for it, God knows that is a much bigger deal when a kid who usually scores something like 2 marks in 20 suddenly manages 50% than when a straight As pupil gets their usual 90% or above. The high you get from it is much better too.
But today, in my Body Balance class, I found out how the kids feel. It was on hamstring stretches. My hamstrings seriously suck, they are stiff and contracted, they have always been, I can still remember being 10 and trying desperately to reach my toes when other girls in the class were effortlessly holding their own feet, face on their knees. So I decided that it was time I finally managed to do that. I’ve been working very hard, almost never missed a class, two or three times a week my hamstrings would get a solid dose of stretching and my toes were getting nearer and nearer. Well, today a miracle occurred. Not only could I reach my toes, but I even managed to actually properly grasp my feet in my hands. It hurt like hell, but so what – I made it! The sense of achievement and excitement was immense… until I looked to my left and saw this woman who came to the class for the first time today, gracefully lay down FLAT between her legs, with no effort what so ever. And so I still kind of suck.