Chelsey Barber

Mastery is a fallacy. In some subjects, like math and sciences, there are concrete objective bodies of knowledge and skills for students to master. And, in all disciplines, mastery-based models have their merits, including a reduction of grading biases, removing behavior from the grade, and an aim to drive intrinsic motivation (Feldman, 2023). But, in the classrooms where we have found ourselves, namely secondary English classrooms, a focus on mastery is a death knell.

My time in K-12 teaching and academia has honed my critical thinking, making me skeptical and evidence-driven. I passed this on to my students, coaching them to question, critique, and debate. In short, I coached them into a culture of doubt. Doubt is powerful and important; it inspires deep thinking, careful analysis, and passionate defense. However, the shortcoming of doubt is that it can stifle a willingness to welcome new ideas and perspectives and hinder social and intellectual empathy.