ummm so I just calculated my grades and

[xfer]

pretty much like 70% of my students Failed on first run-through.

grading is subjectivity masquerading as objectivity, of course--I'll have to figure out how much to weigh each aspect of grading. and I'm using a scoring method I don't really agree with (it's my cooperating teacher's method). but, still.

they mostly failed because they only turn in about 30% of the homework and about a third of the students didn't even bother to turn in their big paper for the quarter. it's kind of ridiculous. the culture at the school where I work is that "nobody does homework" so they don't really expect it, but I was trying to set high expectations for them.

still, I mean, I feel like it's my fault. because if I were a better teacher I think I would have better impressed upon them how important it is to do their homework, assignments, et cetera. argh.

 

[minxnim]

Welcome to teaching =(

 

[xfer]

after checking the system for abscences, I feel both better and worse--better because most of the kids who are failing are AUTOMATICALLY failing because they have so many unexcused abscences (8 or more), so it's out of my hands (and explains why they did so poorly in classwork/tests/homework). worse because jesus, those kids are going to be so fucked in the real world.

 

[xfer]

there is this one really smart kid who has 34 unexcused absences and 5 "present, but tardy"s. i barely know him. what is he DOING? his home situation must be really bad.

 

[minxnim]

That kid is me in the 90's

 

[xfer]

what were you doing? honestly? working? taking care of family? i want to ask him if he ever shows up again, but i feel like i might not like the answer.

here's the grades for my worse class (i have two), AFTER tweaking:

NC
NC
NC
F
D-
F
F
D-
A+
F
NC
F
D-
F
A
D-
NC
F
A
F
D+
F
A

you can pretty much tell that there are kids who did their work, and kids who did not do their work. maybe it's a mark of successful teaching that the kids who did their work understood the subject matter and actually learned and ended up getting great grades (including some English Language Learners). but I think it's a mark of serious failure that I couldn't bring in some of the others, and seem to be teaching to only half the class).

 

[xfer]

(NC = No Credit, given to people who got 4+ unexcused absences, but deserved a passing grade, not a failing grade)

 

[coelacanth_M]

ick, i really hate school because of the entire grading system. it's really discouraging when you do really well on the tests and essays, proving that you've obviously learned the material throughly, but then the grade is drastically lowered due to excessive absenses and missed homework. grrrrrr. seriously, what's up with that? it really makes no sense at all! teachers really shouldn't factor absenses and homework into the final grade, in my opinion. i really can't see it being anything except a power trip/discipline issue, nothing to do with actual education.

(hi, yes, i'm bitter. story of my life.)

 

[minxnim]

well i had just plain trouble with authority. my parents didn't ground me or make me go to school. my home life was fucking crap. i never even went home at night i'd just wander around painting. my teachers always treated me like shit becuase they hated my sister and the rest of my family and they thought i was an idiot.

 

[minxnim]

come to think of it tho, all those teachers are like the dog in this picture now,

 

[xfer]

well, actually, you're encouraged to use absences and tardies into your grade score, but I did not, figuring that the students would miss enough homework and classwork just by being absent and lose enough points that way. i was actually proven correct sort of! most of the people who did badly without any sort of absence thing factored in did so because they had missed so much. (the rule I mentioned above is only for excessive absences--8+ in a single quarter--and in none of these cases is there someone who excelled but failed anyway because of the rule).

but homework? i guess it depends on the type of homework you get assigned, but i don't see why it shouldn't factor into the grade. if we're talking about how to develop good interview questions, and i assign them to write three questions for homework, and the next day the class activity is switching your questions with someone else and commenting on your partner's questions...not bringing in the questions pretty much makes you unable to participate in the next lesson, too. even if you don't piggyback homework into lesson plans, how else would you get graded? when we read a book, the homework each night was to write a little bit about the book. that's the only way we kept people reading it and kept track of how well they were processing it. i guess we could have given a multiple-choice facts test at the end of the unit to see who read it, but that seems like a waste of time to me.

in 12th grade I actually flunked honors calculus because I never was in class--I asked for a pass to the cafeteria each day when I walked in and never came back. I scored a 98 on the final exam, highest in the class, and STILL failed.

 

[minxnim]

dont get me wrong, i think you should grade for absences and lack of homework. i ended up going to simon's rock for high school for that reason.. some people aren't meant to be in a regular high school and they need to figure it out. that's what guidance counselors are for (supposedly).

 

[inkybmistro]

but do you feel like you're in control? or is the class like some pack of wild jackals?

 

[xfer]

some days are better than others!

 

[Burzumite]

I don't know, I in school at the moment. I never got good grades, unless I had the right teacher. Some teachers don't push you, some push you too hard to the point that you just give up or stop caring. Personally, I found myself happiest, and doing the best in a light setting, a happy one. Were the whole class and the teacher can sit around talking about something that relates to the lesson. I guess this really only works in an English class though, with mature students.

What grade/subject are you teaching?

 

[xfer]

11th-grade English!

 

[avi]

too bad schools can't afford guidance counselors. still, if you can't be bothered to show up for an english class, I wouldn't pass you. math is different b/c it's not subjective - you either learned the material or you didn't. you learn in english class by being there and participating.

 

[Burzumite]

Woah dude. . . you could be my teacher. . . . I'd be a good student, for you. I seem to have a good relationship with teachers that share some of the same interests with me (even if it is just Kayo Dot).

 

[Burzumite]

Of course, I'm homeschooled, so I don't even see my teachers.

 

[Danolich]

there is this one really smart kid who has 34 unexcused absences and 5 "present, but tardy"s. i barely know him. what is he DOING? his home situation must be really bad.

That was me in High School, I was going to the worst rated HS in the state. I had been jumped and robbed a number of times so I used to cut school and go to barnes and noble to read.