School changing a student's grade

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School changing a student's grade

by Daniel Hanson

Jul 27, 2012

I wanted to share this article and get your reactions from it. I really would like to know the district and the teacher's side of the story, not just the angry mom's side of the story.

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Daniel Hanson Very good points. I hate the mentality that if a child or parent complains to the school, they just expect the school to just change the grade for them. Notice how the school automatically changed the grade to a B just because the mother complained about the grade and made accusations. Most teachers are competent at what they do and they legally ar...See MoreVery good points. I hate the mentality that if a child or parent complains to the school, they just expect the school to just change the grade for them. Notice how the school automatically changed the grade to a B just because the mother complained about the grade and made accusations. Most teachers are competent at what they do and they legally are supposed to be the ones to evaluate the student's knowledge and performance in the subject matter. When I hear situations like this (of course, we do not know the full story here), it makes me feel like we as teachers are treated less and less like the professionals that we are. I'm talking about as a whole, as a profession. That kind of mentality as well as the one-sided stories presented in the media sickens me. (And yes, there are bad teachers out there, just like there are bad workers in any profession. Don't label the rest of us though.)

On 7/28/12, az teach wrote: > On 7/27/12, Daniel Hanson wrote: >> I wanted to share this article and get your reactions from >> it. I really would like to know the district and the >> teacher's side of the story, not just the angry mom's side >> of the story. > > Agreed, Daniel. The article is incomplete and one-sided, and > without the teacher's response to the allegations we're left > with the student and his parent's obviously biased views. I > find it difficult to believe that 1) one assignment would lower > a 106% grade to a C, and, 2)the teacher blindsided the student > by promising a make-up and then capriciously taking it away. > Speaking as someone who teaches at a school with a lot of > helicopter parents like this, it seems that more and more of > them resort to the tactics of their children in order to get > the results they want each year. (Shrill, blinded by emotions, > unable to accept differing opinions...) The fact that the boy > and his mom are asking for $10,000 in emotional damages, on top > of a second grade change (the school already acquiesced once on > that!)speaks volumes about their integrity. > > To be fair, there are unanswered questions about the teacher > too, such as, why is he/she teaching at a different school this > year? Again, the reporting is incomplete and we need more > details to make an informed decision.

Jul 28, 2012

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piare2 I know that one must be very careful about grades with AP and advanced kids. When decimals separate them for class ranking, and their college hopes (not to mention scholarships) hinge upon them, we can't be too careful to be as fair as possible.

I, too, would love to hear the rest of the story. It is entirely possible though. Of course the...See MoreI know that one must be very careful about grades with AP and advanced kids. When decimals separate them for class ranking, and their college hopes (not to mention scholarships) hinge upon them, we can't be too careful to be as fair as possible.

I, too, would love to hear the rest of the story. It is entirely possible though. Of course there are teachers who would give a student a C without allowing makeup work. And if there aren't enough grades (some teachers do this too) a zero can pull the average down quite a bit.

So what the article states is entirely possible. The media does love to jump all over these problems, but it is the bad teachers who give us all a black eye.

On 7/28/12, Daniel Hanson wrote: > Very good points. I hate the mentality that if a child or parent > complains to the school, they just expect the school to just > change the grade for them. Notice how the school automatically > changed the grade to a B just because the mother complained about > the grade and made accusations. Most teachers are competent at > what they do and they legally are supposed to be the ones to > evaluate the student's knowledge and performance in the subject > matter. When I hear situations like this (of course, we do not > know the full story here), it makes me feel like we as teachers > are treated less and less like the professionals that we are. I'm > talking about as a whole, as a profession. That kind of mentality > as well as the one-sided stories presented in the media sickens > me. (And yes, there are bad teachers out there, just like there > are bad workers in any profession. Don't label the rest of us though.) > > On 7/28/12, az teach wrote: >> On 7/27/12, Daniel Hanson wrote: >>> I wanted to share this article and get your reactions from >>> it. I really would like to know the district and the >>> teacher's side of the story, not just the angry mom's side >>> of the story. >> >> Agreed, Daniel. The article is incomplete and one-sided, and >> without the teacher's response to the allegations we're left >> with the student and his parent's obviously biased views. I >> find it difficult to believe that 1) one assignment would lower >> a 106% grade to a C, and, 2)the teacher blindsided the student >> by promising a make-up and then capriciously taking it away. >> Speaking as someone who teaches at a school with a lot of >> helicopter parents like this, it seems that more and more of >> them resort to the tactics of their children in order to get >> the results they want each year. (Shrill, blinded by emotions, >> unable to accept differing opinions...) The fact that the boy >> and his mom are asking for $10,000 in emotional damages, on top >> of a second grade change (the school already acquiesced once on >> that!)speaks volumes about their integrity. >> >> To be fair, there are unanswered questions about the teacher >> too, such as, why is he/she teaching at a different school this >> year? Again, the reporting is incomplete and we need more >> details to make an informed decision.

Jul 28, 2012

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Vet Teacher On 7/28/12, Daniel Hanson wrote:

Neither do we know that the 'school automatically changed the grade to a B' - we don't know how much discussion and thought went into the school's decision as to how to respond to it. To blithely say they 'automatically changed the grade' is to speak without knowing.

This mother did accuse the tea...See MoreOn 7/28/12, Daniel Hanson wrote:

Neither do we know that the 'school automatically changed the grade to a B' - we don't know how much discussion and thought went into the school's decision as to how to respond to it. To blithely say they 'automatically changed the grade' is to speak without knowing.

This mother did accuse the teacher of violating the state education code - did the administration think the parent had a point? Mistakes are made in school and teachers are human.

Or did the administration want this to go away? Have you ever tried to run any institution much less a school? Does the administration of a school particularly in these times have larger problems that demand time and energy than this one?

Possibly but it's also possible they agreed with the parent and the 'B' was the administration's attempt to compromise between the C+ awarded by the teacher and the A+ wanted by the parent.

All that said, I'd also say - I have seen unprofessional behavior from teachers. I both admire your school and envy it too if your colleagues there never exhibit anything less than perfect professionalism. I've even seen some teachers engage in some rather petty and vindictive behavior toward students, parents and even their colleagues.

But that's my school and it may be that yours are very different.

> Very good points. I hate the mentality that if a child or parent > complains to the school, they just expect the school to just > change the grade for them. Notice how the school automatically > changed the grade to a B just because the mother complained about > the grade and made accusations. Most teachers are competent at > what they do and they legally are supposed to be the ones to > evaluate the student's knowledge and performance in the subject > matter. When I hear situations like this (of course, we do not > know the full story here), it makes me feel like we as teachers > are treated less and less like the professionals that we are. I'm > talking about as a whole, as a profession. That kind of mentality > as well as the one-sided stories presented in the media sickens > me. (And yes, there are bad teachers out there, just like there > are bad workers in any profession. Don't label the rest of us though.) > >

Jul 30, 2012

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Problem with open gradebooks My school implemented an "open gradebook" last year, through with students and parents can see their grades any time. A problem with this, in my opinion, is that they can be easily misled when the teacher only has minor assignment grades (e.g. homework/classwork) and no assessments yet. Sure, a student might have a 100% average at some point, but o...See MoreMy school implemented an "open gradebook" last year, through with students and parents can see their grades any time. A problem with this, in my opinion, is that they can be easily misled when the teacher only has minor assignment grades (e.g. homework/classwork) and no assessments yet. Sure, a student might have a 100% average at some point, but only because we haven't had a test or quiz yet shows the mastery of the material. I have had to explain this to parents more than once when they have questioned why their children's grades suddenly dropped.

I am surprised that the school changed the grade to a B. Luckily my administration supports teachers' grades and would never consider overriding our professional judgment.

On 7/30/12, Vet Teacher wrote: > On 7/28/12, Daniel Hanson wrote: > > Neither do we know that the 'school automatically changed the grade > to a B' - we don't know how much discussion and thought went into > the school's decision as to how to respond to it. To blithely say > they 'automatically changed the grade' is to speak without knowing. > > This mother did accuse the teacher of violating the state education > code - did the administration think the parent had a point? Mistakes > are made in school and teachers are human. > > Or did the administration want this to go away? Have you ever tried > to run any institution much less a school? Does the administration > of a school particularly in these times have larger problems that > demand time and energy than this one? > > Possibly but it's also possible they agreed with the parent and > the 'B' was the administration's attempt to compromise between the > C+ awarded by the teacher and the A+ wanted by the parent. > > All that said, I'd also say - I have seen unprofessional behavior > from teachers. I both admire your school and envy it too if your > colleagues there never exhibit anything less than perfect > professionalism. I've even seen some teachers engage in some rather > petty and vindictive behavior toward students, parents and even > their colleagues. > > But that's my school and it may be that yours are very different. > > >> Very good points. I hate the mentality that if a child or parent >> complains to the school, they just expect the school to just >> change the grade for them. Notice how the school automatically >> changed the grade to a B just because the mother complained about >> the grade and made accusations. Most teachers are competent at >> what they do and they legally are supposed to be the ones to >> evaluate the student's knowledge and performance in the subject >> matter. When I hear situations like this (of course, we do not >> know the full story here), it makes me feel like we as teachers >> are treated less and less like the professionals that we are. I'm >> talking about as a whole, as a profession. That kind of mentality >> as well as the one-sided stories presented in the media sickens >> me. (And yes, there are bad teachers out there, just like there >> are bad workers in any profession. Don't label the rest of us > though.) >> >>

Aug 3, 2012

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Problem with open gradebooks--THIS ONE Sorry--had some errors in the last one that I missed!!

My school implemented an "open gradebook" last year, through which students and parents can see their grades any time. A problem with this, in my opinion, is that they can be easily misled when the teacher only has minor assignment grades (e.g. homework/classwork) and no assessments y...See MoreSorry--had some errors in the last one that I missed!!

My school implemented an "open gradebook" last year, through which students and parents can see their grades any time. A problem with this, in my opinion, is that they can be easily misled when the teacher only has minor assignment grades (e.g. homework/classwork) and no assessments yet. Sure, a student might have a 100% average at some point, but only because we haven't had a test or quiz yet that shows the mastery of the material. I have had to explain this to parents more than once when they have questioned why their children's grades suddenly dropped.

I am surprised that the school changed the grade to a B. Luckily my administration supports teachers' grades and would never consider overriding our professional judgment.

On 8/03/12, Problem with open gradebooks wrote: > My school implemented an "open gradebook" last year, through with > students and parents can see their grades any time. A problem with > this, in my opinion, is that they can be easily misled when the > teacher only has minor assignment grades (e.g. homework/classwork) and > no assessments yet. Sure, a student might have a 100% average at some > point, but only because we haven't had a test or quiz yet shows the > mastery of the material. I have had to explain this to parents more > than once when they have questioned why their children's grades > suddenly dropped. > > I am surprised that the school changed the grade to a B. Luckily my > administration supports teachers' grades and would never consider > overriding our professional judgment. > > > On 7/30/12, Vet Teacher wrote: >> On 7/28/12, Daniel Hanson wrote: >> >> Neither do we know that the 'school automatically changed the grade >> to a B' - we don't know how much discussion and thought went into >> the school's decision as to how to respond to it. To blithely say >> they 'automatically changed the grade' is to speak without knowing. >> >> This mother did accuse the teacher of violating the state education >> code - did the administration think the parent had a point? Mistakes >> are made in school and teachers are human. >> >> Or did the administration want this to go away? Have you ever tried >> to run any institution much less a school? Does the administration >> of a school particularly in these times have larger problems that >> demand time and energy than this one? >> >> Possibly but it's also possible they agreed with the parent and >> the 'B' was the administration's attempt to compromise between the >> C+ awarded by the teacher and the A+ wanted by the parent. >> >> All that said, I'd also say - I have seen unprofessional behavior >> from teachers. I both admire your school and envy it too if your >> colleagues there never exhibit anything less than perfect >> professionalism. I've even seen some teachers engage in some rather >> petty and vindictive behavior toward students, parents and even >> their colleagues. >> >> But that's my school and it may be that yours are very different. >> >> >>> Very good points. I hate the mentality that if a child or parent >>> complains to the school, they just expect the school to just >>> change the grade for them. Notice how the school automatically >>> changed the grade to a B just because the mother complained about >>> the grade and made accusations. Most teachers are competent at >>> what they do and they legally are supposed to be the ones to >>> evaluate the student's knowledge and performance in the subject >>> matter. When I hear situations like this (of course, we do not >>> know the full story here), it makes me feel like we as teachers >>> are treated less and less like the professionals that we are. I'm >>> talking about as a whole, as a profession. That kind of mentality >>> as well as the one-sided stories presented in the media sickens >>> me. (And yes, there are bad teachers out there, just like there >>> are bad workers in any profession. Don't label the rest of us >> though.) >>> >>

Aug 3, 2012

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