Re: End of New Year

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Where I teach, we are not supposed have a failure rate of more
than 20 percent. Some teachers have no failures. Some have
more than 20 percent. The teachers who have more than 20
percent failure rates are watched very carefully. Their grades
and graded papers are monitored. If an athlete is failing,
your first requirement is to notify the coach so that he can
get that student to tutorials. We have tried to raise
expectations for our students. The kids will not raise the
expectations for themselves. If the students refuse to do
what you want, then you must change your teaching to make
sure they get that 70. If they don't do the work and fail
because of that, document that. Remember if you are teaching
in Texas, there is a state law that says any student who
fails an assignment has the opportunity to redo that
assignment or retake that test. There is no limit according
to the law how many times he can redo or retake the test.
Also, if you have inclusion kids in your class, you must
modify their assignment regardless of what your expectations
are. Also have you ever heard this statement: A good teacher
modifies assignments for everyone but you have to modify for
special ed.

On 12/30/11, Mia Edmondson-Ochoa wrote:
> This year has been rough! I did find temporary employment
> as a long term substitute but it ended a bit before it was
> supposed to. I was informed I was being replaced due to a
> low fail rate. I was only there for almost two months and I
> have different expectations than the permanent teacher. I
> graded harder and had less sympathy for seniors who did not
> give a care about the quality of the work they turned in
> nor about the seriousness of preparation for college. I did
> notice some things while I was there: for instance, my
> classes were filled with athletes. Those athletes did not
> fair well in grades so the grades I finalized were below
> 70. I later found that their grades were changed to 70 so
> they would be eligible for play. The head of the English
> department was not as supportive as I was led to believe.
> He actually failed to communicate with me during final
> exams and I ended up giving a final the perm gave last
> year.After some searching, I emailed my mentor and was put
> straight. Even if it is true, I should find employment with
> a school that is willing to invest in development of my
> skills and who can invest in my success.

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