3 But the agreement backfired!

At first, this agreement worked pretty well — everyone was happy. But then the grades began to show how powerful they’d become. In fact, they began bullying the teachers and the students.

The grade bunch wanted every student’s work to look the same and sound the same. They expected the students to follow these rules. When a child expressed some creativity, it was quickly cut down by the grades.

[Idea from Olivia: I think we could also describe some of the talents or “funds of knowledge” that the students have, and then describe how the grades look down on/are unappreciative of those funds of knowledge. (For instance, one kid has a creative/visual approach to a school assignment, but the grades don’t like that and want them to do it in a specific way.)]