Disclaimer: No, this post is not about any one situation
in particular. I have been teaching for
over a decade and it is a conglomerate of about 1300 students and my
experiences, along with the experiences of good friends within several entirely
different school districts in several states as well as sassy figments of my
imagination (obviously).
** It is also part of
a training that I intend to give on Standards Based Instruction/Assessment at
some point in life, so stay tuned for that!**
If you have been in
the education system where you had to assess work in a traditional point-based
system, …..your welcome, I am about to write things you have been thinking.
Dear Parents of a Student with an 89%,
Your student is a good student, a very good student! 89%! Wow! Nice work student, high five! They
have earned a summation of 89% of the credit assigned to all assignments within
one academic quarter. I’m sorry that’s
not to your satisfaction. While this may
feel like a personal blow to you/your student, it’s not. I did not randomly assign this grade to your
student - they earned it. As you know, during
the quarter I enter grades into a computerized grading system and it uses the pre-set
expectations I have decided upon- (these expectations were given out at open
house, parent teacher conferences and posted to my website) to spit out an
average. No, I do not offer extra credit.
No, they cannot bring in a canned good or dress up in school colors to
earn back that 1 point…. And by the way,
its not just one point, it’s one percent of all points assigned from the entire
quarter.
Just to be clear, I did not personally keep your student off
of high honor roll, they did it themselves.
No, I don’t hate them. No, I don’t hate you. Is there anything they can do? Yes, please
have them try 1% harder next quarter. Is
it sad that their grandparents will not see their name printed in the newspaper
with the other children in the all A’s section? – maybe? Unfortunately, they
will have to “slum it up” with the other regular honor roll students in the section
printed below it. I guarantee they will
still become successful adults. If they are
interested, they will get into a college.
If they are athletically gifted, they will earn a sports scholarship. The 89% they earned one quarter in my class
will neither be a help, nor a hindrance in either situation.
Your student is a good student and they are earning an 89%! If the other 11% of their energy was invested
in something else this quarter (a different class, their family, their job, their
appearance, the opposite sex, what their peers are wearing, what their peers
are doing, annoying you, face timing, tweeting, snapping, posting, thinking
about touching or actually touching, smoking, drinking, driving, drinking while
driving, using drugs,) then I would say we are collectively winning the battle.
I am here to help and (I know this
stings)…but I may know things about your child that you don't, so don’t bite the hand
that feeds.
Not satisfied with that answer? Please don’t take to the
weekly town paper or social media venues to slander my school/name/grading
expectations. I get it, your fierce
tiger parent instincts are coming out– but your privacy setting are not tight
and with six degrees of separation I will find out and then I will be annoyed –
not shocked – but annoyed. Perhaps you
should have your child help you tighten up those settings.
Yes, I will meet
with your student, you, the department head, administration, their grieving grandparents
or the pope himself to discuss this grade of 89%, if this is that important to you. However, your student hasn’t skipped a beat and
looks happy and healthy per usual.
To be honest, I have my own tiger-mom-ish business to attend
to. I am thinking about other things
when I leave work: Do my children have
manners? Are they kind? Did I remember to pack them mittens for daycare? Will my kid need surgery for that weird
gastrointestinal thing that just happened? Will I be able to pay for heating
oil upfront or will I have to charge it? Do we need milk (again)? When will I
stop stress eating and lose my baby weight? When will I be able to go on a date
with my husband? The list goes on
and on and on. See how your student’s 89%
didn’t make it in there? That’s because your student is a good student. Take a breath
and have a cocktail, you are doing a good job and so are they!
Talk to you soon,
One of the 50+ teachers your child will have throughout their educational
career…
P.S. – In a school with only standards based instruction and
assessment, this letter would not exist.
Just sayin'.
