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Valid point. The goal is for parents to like you. Teaching is so f ing political.
Being a hard grader who is unwilling to give an inch....sure, may benefit highly motivated students. But, it will not win points with the Mama's of middle of the road kids, who think junior is a prodigy.
Been there, done that. Just do what makes folks happy. And collect a check. Who cares ?
I taught Braille to mentally retarded blind kids, the parent's were sure their child was a "Helen Keller". Fine. Whatever. It was a waste of time, money, resources. But everyone was happy. Believe me, if these kids could see, they would never have been able to read print...but for some reason, every one thinks if you are blind you learn Braille. Whatever.
You appear to have very high standards for your students. That's wonderful. They need high standards- we do baby our children way too much in today's world but from many of your posts, it appears to be the end of the world if something is not accomplished or completed in your class. ( I believe you had a post about your own child that had ruined her chance for college and she was in 9th garde). Things happen, it is not the end of the world.
You have posts about how much work you have, setting up labs, etc. Obviously if you are so stressed about it all the time, there is a problem.
Correct me if I am wrong - one thread months ago was about kids missing class- possibly going on vacation, or participating in school activities during the school day. I believe if it was a test day the student rec'd a more difficult test. I can't remember the specifics. Yes school is important, but life happens. In our school district, we were allowed one excused absence per year, up to 5 days for vacation. Maybe it wasn't always the best time to take a vacation during the school year, but we had to. My husbands employment depended upon him working during the summer- if he didn't work, he would lose his job. So if we wanted a vacation it was during the school year. IT IS NOT THE SCHOOLS/TEACHER BUSINESS WHAT I DO IN MY FAMILY.
The kids always made up the work, when they graduated they were at the top of the class, rec'd scholarships to college, etc. We wouldn't trade those vacations for anything. We value education and respect teachers, but we also value our family. We stayed within the confines of the law. I never allowed my kids to miss school for dr appt. We always scheduled those after school even though it was an excused absence.
You can hold your kids accountable, but from your posts it APPEARS that your class is the only important thing in life. I get the feeling no one deserves a "A". You are the expert in the field, so since you have an engineering degree you know best. There is a big difference between being an expert (engineer) and being a teacher. I am not trying to be cruel, but that is what I get from your posts- is that how it comes across in the classroom?
You appear to have very high standards for your students. That's wonderful. They need high standards- we do baby our children way too much in today's world but from many of your posts, it appears to be the end of the world if something is not accomplished or completed in your class. ( I believe you had a post about your own child that had ruined her chance for college and she was in 9th garde). Things happen, it is not the end of the world.
You have posts about how much work you have, setting up labs, etc. Obviously if you are so stressed about it all the time, there is a problem.
Correct me if I am wrong - one thread months ago was about kids missing class- possibly going on vacation, or participating in school activities during the school day. I believe if it was a test day the student rec'd a more difficult test. I can't remember the specifics. Yes school is important, but life happens. In our school district, we were allowed one excused absence per year, up to 5 days for vacation. Maybe it wasn't always the best time to take a vacation during the school year, but we had to. My husbands employment depended upon him working during the summer- if he didn't work, he would lose his job. So if we wanted a vacation it was during the school year. IT IS NOT THE SCHOOLS/TEACHER BUSINESS WHAT I DO IN MY FAMILY.
The kids always made up the work, when they graduated they were at the top of the class, rec'd scholarships to college, etc. We wouldn't trade those vacations for anything. We value education and respect teachers, but we also value our family. We stayed within the confines of the law. I never allowed my kids to miss school for dr appt. We always scheduled those after school even though it was an excused absence.
You can hold your kids accountable, but from your posts it APPEARS that your class is the only important thing in life. I get the feeling no one deserves a "A". You are the expert in the field, so since you have an engineering degree you know best. There is a big difference between being an expert (engineer) and being a teacher. I am not trying to be cruel, but that is what I get from your posts- is that how it comes across in the classroom?
I think A's should be earned. My students get them if they have earned them. I don't give A's. They earn them and plenty of them do. However, not as many as parents would like to see earn them. Parents and kids seem to think I give them vs. kids earning them, hence the glares I get from one girl every time she sees me because I would not give her an extra assignment to do to push her grade from an A- to an A when she really earned a B+ (I bumped her to an A- because she was close but refused to bump her to an A.)
I do give a different test when students miss a test because they find out from their friends what was on the one that was taken by the rest of the class. It would be unfair to the kids who showed up for the test not to give them a different and, slightly, more difficult test. They have more time to study and the advantage of their friends telling them the test questions.
I find that kids who go on vacation often do not catch back up very quickly. I'm giving a test this week and I expect two students who were on vacation when the material was taught to bomb it. The school gives as many days as the students was absent to make up any missed work and, as of Friday, I was not seeing signs of understanding what was going on from either of them. Yes, going on vacation during the school year is an issue. A serious one. You can't miss an entire unit being taught and expect to do well. It just amazes me when parents call up to complain because I tested their child on material when their child "....wasn't there to learn this...". They seem surprised that school doesn't just stop when their child is on vacation and that I don't reteach the material for their child when they return. I also think it is unreasonable for parents to expect that I make up a packet for their child in advance. Your choice to go on vacation should not make more work for me. I have such a request right now. I just told the student to check my website because I'm not going to the effort of pulling everything I will hand out in the time the student is gone now. I'll pull it and send for copies when I need it.
As to my dd, nothing that happened to her applies here. She hit a wall when she started AP classes and it cost her the 2 x 2 program. She was supposed to start classes at the community college in Januray but did not because she earned a D in AP history. Yes, her grades this semester likely cost her scolarships to college. It already cost her getting her associates degree at 17 as she's out of the program. I'm not sure how you think this has anything to do with what is going on in my class. When you pull things from one thread into another you are pulling them out of context. What you're posting regarding my dd isn't the problem here.
Last edited by Ivorytickler; 02-10-2013 at 02:31 AM..
Valid point. The goal is for parents to like you. Teaching is so f ing political.
Being a hard grader who is unwilling to give an inch....sure, may benefit highly motivated students. But, it will not win points with the Mama's of middle of the road kids, who think junior is a prodigy.
Been there, done that. Just do what makes folks happy. And collect a check. Who cares ?
I taught Braille to mentally retarded blind kids, the parent's were sure their child was a "Helen Keller". Fine. Whatever. It was a waste of time, money, resources. But everyone was happy. Believe me, if these kids could see, they would never have been able to read print...but for some reason, every one thinks if you are blind you learn Braille. Whatever.
Correct. It won't matter what the kids thing if the parents like me. I'm not sure how to pull that one off.
I hear ya on the politics. I just want to shut my door and teach. There's way too much crap that comes along with teaching.
I don't think I am a hard grader. I just teach hard classes. In many ways, I'm too easy a grader. You should see what kids turn in for lab reports. I try to give, at least, a D- if they actually did the lab even if they turned in garbage for the report. Some of them can't even meet me half way and turn in a completed data table to show they actually did the lab (come on, show up on lab day and copy your partners data).
In chemistry, my grading scale is set up so you have to try to fail. You can pass my class geting 40% on the tests and final because so much of the grade is the labs, quizzes and homework. I allow both labs and quizzes to be corrected and resubmitted to earn back 50% of the missed credit. Fortunately, the new chemistry teacher agreed to continue doing this. If she would have said no, I would have had to change my grading policy to match hers (this is so teachers who teach the same class grade the same). In math I don't do this because I have to follow the grading policies of the department. Math boosts grades at the end of the semester when kids are allowed to retake tests they did poorly on. I had quite a few kids bump from a B to an A this way last semester.
Parent teacher conferences were interesting in the fall. Parent after parent (mostly math) expressed concern over their child not getting an A. I kept explaining that geometry is different and it's not unusual for kids who did well in algebra to struggle with geometry but that went over like a lead balloon. I did not give them a roadmap to an A. It would seem there are only two grades in the eyes of many parents. An A and anything else, including an A-, might as well be an E.
I am 60, white, male, gruff, mean, fat. But I want to teach students about life. I want to motivate them to learn. I want them to understand that they are learning to help themselves. I am not my student's friend. They don't like me, but they know I care about their lives. They know I am a great teacher.
Teaching in my opinion is 90% motivation, 10% imparting knowledge.
Looking over your posts, you seem very very technically oriented, dotting eyes, crossing t's, very defensive, possible, anal retentive.
First of all I would have been in my principal's office after the first request to transfer came in. Explaining that you needed his/her support and not to approve just because I was new (been there done that, at 55 years old)
I think the issue you have is definition of teaching. Again, to me it is motivating and inspiring...the guide on the side, rather than the sage on the stage. Don't know you, but just from reading, I suspect you are firmly entrenched on the stage.
Before you condem me, my test scores are tops, way over national, state, and district average. With a smile, and a wink, I have been deemed "an ICON of education" in the county.
Instead of getting students to like you, work on getting them to know you care and that your standards are only there to help them. Good Luck.
Are you really surprised? Of course that's her takeaway. It's the one that reinforces her belief that the problem lies with everyone else - not her. She's the poor hardworking and put upon teacher who is disliked simply because she is a tough teacher who has high expectations.
OK - you countered everyone of my points with legitimate answers. Yes you do teach difficult courses- no doubt about it- I am not asking you to give grades to students, they need to earn them, but it appears everyone is always against you- the kids, the parents and the administration (maybe it is your district).
The way I perceive your posts is that the class/subject you teach is the most important thing in the world and nothing else matters(maybe you don't feel that way, but that is what I take from your posts). It is not necessary for you to contradict this issue on this forum- instead of defending yourself- maybe just think about it.
I am also not asking you to dumb down your classes and not hold students accountable- just remember if you are not happy find a way to make yourself happy. I know you need this job, I know you have been out of the industry for several years and you are having difficulty getting back in, but somewhere along the way someone has to bend.
I think your school is way too lax about switching classes. Where I went to school, you weren't allowed to switch classes or drop classes for pretty much any reason. It's sad to say, but I think most kids in high school do not really care to learn. They want to take the easiest way possible to barely get by. If they realize they have a "hard" teacher and the school allows them to switch (which they REALLY SHOULDN'T DO for this very reason), of course they are going to try to switch to an easier teacher/class.
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When you pull things from one thread into another you are pulling them out of context. What you're posting regarding my dd isn't the problem here.
