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I don't know. I probably would say something just to stop this teacher from making assumptions like this in the future. Or at least I'd hope my words would make her pause the next time before she sends something like that.
It doesn't have to be a mean note. Just write in a conversational tone and add a few LOLs and she should get the idea.
I know you already made up your mind, but I just wanted to put it out there.
Well, if the teacher is going to offer an opportunity to the struggling C and below students, why would he stop a B student from wanting an A? The "C" isn't real, either, if extra credit is needed to get there. I think the teacher is wrong on this -- either offer opportunities for ALL the class, or NONE of the class to improve their grades, not just to a select few.
In some schools, opportunities to make up credit are required to be offered (or the opportunity for a retake) for students in a certain grade bracket. Often it's only students who are failing who are required to be given an opportunity to retake, but perhaps at this school, the line is at a B/C.
If a student is failing, allowing them to do retakes on an assignment and earn a 70 so that they have some hope of not having their grade completely bombed is reasonable. It's not like we're talking F level work being allowed to bring it up to an A at the last minute. It will usually help them enough to go from an F to a C if they put in the effort.
That said, I still think the teacher should've been posting grades more regularly so the OP's child could've seen only a week or two (or a quiz or two) after the fact that something wasn't going right. Waiting until the 11th hour to post a tons of grades is unfair to students and even more detrimental to struggling students than to kids like the OP's daughter. Imagine a kid who is turning in no homework and lying to their parents about it every night. If grades are going in at least once a week, this can be nipped in the bud early on. If the teacher waits until the last second to post a ton of grades, there's no chance to address and fix the problem before the kid is way behind. Just not good teaching practice.
I understand the frustration about the grading book not being updated, but I had a few professors who weren't timely in returning exams and papers. Two didn't do it until the very end of the term. We were all wondering if we even passed the course. This is all part of life. You can go complaining about it, but the professors can be biased in grading as a result, especially on research or term papers. Everyone usually waited to complain when the term was over so it would be on record (not for grade changes), but I doubt anything was ever done to change their ways for future courses since these were professors with tenure.
I spoke to the office and was told that the teachers are supposed to enter the grades within a certain time frame from when the student turns it in. And it's averaging 48 hours or less. I mentioned that one of my daughter's teachers didn't this quarter. She asked for my daughter's name and looked her up. Before I could tell her who it was, she said, "Ah yes, (teacher's name). We already spoke with her and she will be more timely with the grades. Were there any others?"
So it appears I am not the only one that called. And we will see how this quarter goes. I did ask kid again if the teacher gives detailed instructions of what she wants before tests/quizzes/homework etc? And kid admits that she has that "Bueller, Bueller, Bueller" type voice and can tune her out. So she can't tell me for sure if she said she wanted the long or short method 100% but she is listening from now on.
Also interesting tidbit, I think she got backlash for the grades she had issued. She made the kids fill out a questionnaire on the last test if they didn't do well. They had to write questions like, "How long did I study?" "Did I raise my hand and ask questions in class if I didn't understand?" "Did I ask for extra help or tutoring?" "What can I do to improve my grades?"
And, I might be tempted to throw in a little barb about her failure to provide grades until it's too late to do anything about them.
This just baffles me. How can someone know if they're doing the work right if they don't get feedback? (Maybe you could comment on that and privately CC the principal).
Also interesting tidbit, I think she got backlash for the grades she had issued. She made the kids fill out a questionnaire on the last test if they didn't do well. They had to write questions like, "How long did I study?" "Did I raise my hand and ask questions in class if I didn't understand?" "Did I ask for extra help or tutoring?" "What can I do to improve my grades?"
I thought that was a tad odd.
This is either a CYA attempt by the teacher, attempting to gather evidence to put at least some of the blame onto the students themselves; or it's a standard questionnaire from administration so they can determine if the teacher needs in-class auditing.
"Did I raise my hand and ask questions in class if I didn't understand?" Is a trick question... students will not raise their hands or ask questions of a teacher who intimidates them or is normally unresponsive with feedback. If a teacher scares the student, the last thing they will do is call attention to themselves or do anything that can be interpretted as a challenge. If the teacher isn't responsive with their feedback or their feedback isn't helpful, a student will simply stop asking. Of course, a student isn't going to go to admit "No" because then it's their fault, and they certainly aren't going to go into detail as to why they didn't ask questions when the teacher has access to their questionnaires. Kids are young, not STUPID... by middle school they know that chances are good they're going to be blamed or that they'll have to pay for "tattling"
You seem to be doing a good job handling. If this is still bothering you, I would get in contact with the teacher to clear up any misconceptions. It was unprofessional for the teacher to blame you in that manner so I can understand why you would be bothered by that. Aside from that, you definitely don't want to be any tension between you and the teacher since I believe that teachers and parents should be partners. The teacher could have very well been going through a rough time and that's what led to everything happening with the grades.
Also, as a few people have mentioned, your daughter isn't showing signs of being a perfectionist. She is a perfectionist based off what you have told us. That's not very healthy as it causes a lot of stress, but it also leads to students internalizing limiting beliefs about their intelligence when they hit a wall academically and need to engage in a lot of struggle and persistence to improve.
I would continue what you're doing and be very proactive in trying to get her out of that handset by doing things such as letting her know that it's what she gets out of a class and being dedicated to learning in and out of the classroom that is more important than a grade. I think of it as being two dichotomies: lifelong learners and overachievers.
I spoke to the office and was told that the teachers are supposed to enter the grades within a certain time frame from when the student turns it in. And it's averaging 48 hours or less. I mentioned that one of my daughter's teachers didn't this quarter. She asked for my daughter's name and looked her up. Before I could tell her who it was, she said, "Ah yes, (teacher's name). We already spoke with her and she will be more timely with the grades. Were there any others?" So it appears I am not the only one that called.
I think you did the right thing. And really, not entering grades until the 11th hour is just bad teaching practice. Students have a right to have regular feedback on their progress or lack thereof. Someone gave an example of a college professor, and I also think no feedback is a problem in that scenario, but I think at a middle school age, it's even more crucial that there be regular updates and communication about progress.
Quote:
Originally Posted by momtothree
She made the kids fill out a questionnaire on the last test if they didn't do well. They had to write questions like, "How long did I study?" "Did I raise my hand and ask questions in class if I didn't understand?" "Did I ask for extra help or tutoring?" "What can I do to improve my grades?" I thought that was a tad odd.
I have a big issue with untimely grade posting/paper returning, but I don't see any problem with these questions. Your daughter may be more mature than average, but many middle school aged children need the dots drawn very close together to connect the fact that they didn't do well with the behavior that is causing them not to do well. I wouldn't even assume these had bad motives in mind, but rather are trying to help the kids who didn't do very well to become more conscious of behaviors that would help them do better the next time.
I have a big issue with untimely grade posting/paper returning, but I don't see any problem with these questions. Your daughter may be more mature than average, but many middle school aged children need the dots drawn very close together to connect the fact that they didn't do well with the behavior that is causing them not to do well. I wouldn't even assume these had bad motives in mind, but rather are trying to help the kids who didn't do very well to become more conscious of behaviors that would help them do better the next time.
I think it depends on what was done with the questionaires. Were they discussed and then kept by the students, or were they turned in? I can see a clear benefit to the questions and discussion. I see no purpose in turning them in to the teacher.
I think it depends on what was done with the questionaires. Were they discussed and then kept by the students, or were they turned in? I can see a clear benefit to the questions and discussion. I see no purpose in turning them in to the teacher.
Eh, I dunno. I can see it playing out either way. Maybe she has some huge ulterior motive. On the other hand, with middle school age kids it's not uncommon that teachers say, "Yes, you will have to turn this in," to make sure students take the assignment seriously and complete it. The problem with the group that is targeted (those who didn't do well on their test) is that a good percentage is likely less than inclined to do work anyway, and saying they should do xyz but they don't have to turn it in will equal nothing getting done.
This isn't to say OP shouldn't continue to keep her eyes and ears open, but I think it's also important not to let heightened sensitivity make everything into something it might not be.
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