I have been Called to the Principal's Office

[Luissa]

10th

about a month: I know, not much time, but GET THE LEAD OUT!

Problems EVERY year....wait until 9 weeks are up, then WFT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING??? has been SOP. Not so this year.

English 10, for example....I have not seen a graded paper for the past TWO WEEKS?

Biology? Nothing but one paper with three questions graded.

I don't remember ever having that much homework in biology, it was mostly in class activities.
And maybe you should ask your children every night what they are learning.

I recall at LEAST having vocabulary words in Biology...fucking having to memorize names of plant parts an' shit.

Have YOU asked a freakin 16 yo what they did in school?

"Huh. uh......grrkle...urp, ten abber dak."

WTF????

Do what my dad did. Bug me so much I give in.

And i remember learning vocab, and plant names, but I just don't remember having that much homework. I think we had to study a lot due to pop quizzes, and tests.
They don't give out a syllabus at the beginning of the school year?
I think you mentioned something about there being an online system for the classes. There should be a syllabus on there, and they usually outline everything they are doing.
In my classes, we have an online system, and it outlines everything. We know what we will be talking about almost every day and when stuff will be due. Of course it is college, but I don't see the point of having everything online and them not including a syllabus.

 

[AllieBaba]

I also offered to attend class with my boys if they didn't start to bring home homework. I told them I was perfectly willing to quit my job and go on welfare so I could attend class with them, to make sure I was available to "help" them remember to bring home homework, and so I always knew what they were doing in their classes, since they weren't inclined to tell me.

They believed me. I wasn't that attached to my job at the time.

 

[Samson]

I don't remember ever having that much homework in biology, it was mostly in class activities.
And maybe you should ask your children every night what they are learning.

I recall at LEAST having vocabulary words in Biology...fucking having to memorize names of plant parts an' shit.

Have YOU asked a freakin 16 yo what they did in school?

"Huh. uh......grrkle...urp, ten abber dak."

WTF????

Do what my dad did. Bug me so much I give in.

And i remember learning vocab, and plant names, but I just don't remember having that much homework. I think we had to study a lot due to pop quizzes, and tests.
They don't give out a syllabus at the beginning of the school year?
I think you mentioned something about there being an online system for the classes. There should be a syllabus on there, and they usually outline everything they are doing.
In my classes, we have an online system, and it outlines everything. We know what we will be talking about almost every day and when stuff will be due. Of course it is college, but I don't see the point of having everything online and them not including a syllabus.

Yeah, this kid won't give in: at any rate, the teachers are cracking under my pressure to perform more than he is.

The syllabus online is fine, but I want to see the graded papers: If he goes to class every day for a week, I expect that he leaned enough to generate ONE Grade, and that I should be able to see the evaluative tool.

 

[Samson]

I also offered to attend class with my boys if they didn't start to bring home homework. I told them I was perfectly willing to quit my job and go on welfare so I could attend class with them, to make sure I was available to "help" them remember to bring home homework, and so I always knew what they were doing in their classes, since they weren't inclined to tell me.

They believed me. I wasn't that attached to my job at the time.

Yeah, um, I'm not gonna quit my job to go hold my 16 yo's hand.

 

[Annie]

Charter High School is often, as in this case, not an option: however my 14 and 7 yo are in Charter school, and I agree, you can pull strings much more easily.

Also, elementary grades receive feedback every day.....eventually, like when they're 11 or 12 graders, you begin to see less and less paper (I'm not sure this is a good thing).

Tends to be as the grades get higher there are fewer, but more in depth lessons. Essays, research papers, and labs are not usually going to be done in a day.

However, you and kid should know what is going on and assignments should have clear expectations on material to be covered and how they will be assessed.

I agree with the more in-depth lessons having a longer timeline.

But does that preclude lessons with a shorter timeline?

It seems to me quite natural to expect there would be something NEW learned every DAY, if not every WEEK, and that some evaluative tool be applied to that learning.

The fact is, teachers don't want to construct the test, grade the test, or deal with parents that question the grade. The less frequently they grade, the easier their lives are.

That's why meeting with principal, student, teacher and yourself is probably a good idea. Classes are probably 45-50 minutes. Depending on the subject and project to be assessed, the class time might well be used to teach how to address aspects of the assignment. Then again, that should be clear by syllabus.

Lower grades tend to have 'daily work' as much of the work is actually teaching the process of mastering work. By 7th or 8th grades, the student should know how he needs to acquire mastery of tasks. (For instance, learning how to memorize vocab. Learning math facts-kids learn different ways of getting to the same end.)

Needed vocabulary is listed in each text at the beginning or end of each lesson. By high school it's assumed the student recognizes such. The student is expected to be using the skills learned, not for grade, but because they are intricate to mastery.

 

[Annie]

After pm with Samson, his concerns are justified. What I said previously holds for regular students with decent teachers. When there are special issues involved, parents must maintain control. They also need to have all the information necessary to do their part to help their child.

 

[Samson]

Tends to be as the grades get higher there are fewer, but more in depth lessons. Essays, research papers, and labs are not usually going to be done in a day.

However, you and kid should know what is going on and assignments should have clear expectations on material to be covered and how they will be assessed.

I agree with the more in-depth lessons having a longer timeline.

But does that preclude lessons with a shorter timeline?

It seems to me quite natural to expect there would be something NEW learned every DAY, if not every WEEK, and that some evaluative tool be applied to that learning.

The fact is, teachers don't want to construct the test, grade the test, or deal with parents that question the grade. The less frequently they grade, the easier their lives are.

That's why meeting with principal, student, teacher and yourself is probably a good idea. Classes are probably 45-50 minutes. Depending on the subject and project to be assessed, the class time might well be used to teach how to address aspects of the assignment. Then again, that should be clear by syllabus.

Lower grades tend to have 'daily work' as much of the work is actually teaching the process of mastering work. By 7th or 8th grades, the student should know how he needs to acquire mastery of tasks. (For instance, learning how to memorize vocab. Learning math facts-kids learn different ways of getting to the same end.)

Needed vocabulary is listed in each text at the beginning or end of each lesson. By high school it's assumed the student recognizes such. The student is expected to be using the skills learned, not for grade, but because they are intricate to mastery.

While I agree with this, I see no need to "assume the student recognizes such" for vocabulary, or anything else. I'm not asking for a daily assessment. I simply want a weekly quiz. 5 questions?

Is that too much to freakin' ask? If so, why?

 

[Luissa]

I think Samson should just keep bugging them. They will get sick of him, and realize it just easier to do what he asks.

And he can come watch my father, who has perfected the art of bugging his children. Just don't wake your children up by quoting Denny's commercials. My brother and I almost murdered him when we were in high school, for one he would always come down five minutes before our alarms were due to go off. Five minutes is precious sleep time to a teenager.

 

[Samson]

I think Samson should just keep bugging them. They will get sick of him, and realize it just easier to do what he asks.

And he can come watch my father, who has perfected the art of bugging his children. Just don't wake your children up by quoting Denny's commercials. My brother and I almost murdered him when we were in high school, for one he would always come down five minutes before our alarms were due to go off. Five minutes is precious sleep time to a teenager.

I do LOVE bothering the slaves........

It should be an interesting meeting with the principal next Monday.

I look forward to hearing him explain why my expectations are simply unreasonable.

 

[Luissa]

I just don't get why they are not giving back graded work right away. We always got our work back right away.

Last year when we had to write an essay in my Chinese history class, my teacher had them all back within in two to four days, and these were not short essays. And he had other classes. I don't remember waiting that long for assignments to come back when I was high school, maybe a week. If we corrected them in class, it was usually the next day, and that was only so they could input our grades.

 

[Annie]

I agree with the more in-depth lessons having a longer timeline.

But does that preclude lessons with a shorter timeline?

It seems to me quite natural to expect there would be something NEW learned every DAY, if not every WEEK, and that some evaluative tool be applied to that learning.

The fact is, teachers don't want to construct the test, grade the test, or deal with parents that question the grade. The less frequently they grade, the easier their lives are.

That's why meeting with principal, student, teacher and yourself is probably a good idea. Classes are probably 45-50 minutes. Depending on the subject and project to be assessed, the class time might well be used to teach how to address aspects of the assignment. Then again, that should be clear by syllabus.

Lower grades tend to have 'daily work' as much of the work is actually teaching the process of mastering work. By 7th or 8th grades, the student should know how he needs to acquire mastery of tasks. (For instance, learning how to memorize vocab. Learning math facts-kids learn different ways of getting to the same end.)

Needed vocabulary is listed in each text at the beginning or end of each lesson. By high school it's assumed the student recognizes such. The student is expected to be using the skills learned, not for grade, but because they are intricate to mastery.

While I agree with this, I see no need to "assume the student recognizes such" for vocabulary, or anything else. I'm not asking for a daily assessment. I simply want a weekly quiz. 5 questions?

Is that too much to freakin' ask? If so, why?

You know I can't say it's 'too much' to ask for, that would be condescending. Actually it has more to do with making the kids realize they must do what they NEED to do on their own. Notice they no longer get stickers by 5th or 6th grade? Now I'm telling you, jr high kids love smiley faces when they do well, high schoolers would probably like some too. However, they are quickly moving towards college and work places where they will not be given much positive reinforcement and certainly need to develop the ability to solve problems on their own.

College courses, heck even AP/honors courses have few grades figured into final. Often just mid-term and final exams.

Assessments are ongoing with any grade, often just oral responses after information read or discussed. Many teachers will have exit cards or questions-quick way to assess whether the information was received as intended. No way to grade, used by teacher to tweak the lesson for the next day.

 

[Samson]

That's why meeting with principal, student, teacher and yourself is probably a good idea. Classes are probably 45-50 minutes. Depending on the subject and project to be assessed, the class time might well be used to teach how to address aspects of the assignment. Then again, that should be clear by syllabus.

Lower grades tend to have 'daily work' as much of the work is actually teaching the process of mastering work. By 7th or 8th grades, the student should know how he needs to acquire mastery of tasks. (For instance, learning how to memorize vocab. Learning math facts-kids learn different ways of getting to the same end.)

Needed vocabulary is listed in each text at the beginning or end of each lesson. By high school it's assumed the student recognizes such. The student is expected to be using the skills learned, not for grade, but because they are intricate to mastery.

While I agree with this, I see no need to "assume the student recognizes such" for vocabulary, or anything else. I'm not asking for a daily assessment. I simply want a weekly quiz. 5 questions?

Is that too much to freakin' ask? If so, why?

You know I can't say it's 'too much' to ask for, that would be condescending. Actually it has more to do with making the kids realize they must do what they NEED to do on their own. Notice they no longer get stickers by 5th or 6th grade? Now I'm telling you, jr high kids love smiley faces when they do well, high schoolers would probably like some too. However, they are quickly moving towards college and work places where they will not be given much positive reinforcement and certainly need to develop the ability to solve problems on their own.

College courses, heck even AP/honors courses have few grades figured into final. Often just mid-term and final exams.

Assessments are ongoing with any grade, often just oral responses after information read or discussed. Many teachers will have exit cards or questions-quick way to assess whether the information was received as intended. No way to grade, used by teacher to tweak the lesson for the next day.

Agreed: I've taught grades 8-12, math and physics, including AP Physics.

I always gave weekly grades, no matter who I was teaching. Usually MORE.

The resistance to my request for weekly graded papers is just astonishing. If I was to complain to a principal about a parent that wished to have weekly feedback, I can very confidently report they'd say, "Do it."

Period, no debate, no discussion, no excuses, no whining.

Get it done.

 

[kwc57]

Since the beginning of the school year about a month ago, I have requested that:

Teachers send me ONE graded paper per week per subject

I stipulate it must be a paper, graded, as opposed to their practice of simply showing the grade in an online gradebook called "Infinite Campus."

My intent is to SEE whatever the hell they're teaching, and if it is being learned. You cannot do this just by looking at the grade

I also stated that if I didn't see graded papers, then I'd need to see THEM AND the graded papers, and we could arrange a meeting.


WELL, apparently this is proving to be An Issue for which I must see the principal!!!???

It seems some teachers are just overwhelmed with the prospect of teaching anything that may be worth assessing the value on a weekly basis!!!!!

GODDAMN? WTF??

Am I being completely unreasonable???

Me. I don't worry about it. My 17 year old senior seems to already know EVERYTHING!!!

 

[Samson]

Since the beginning of the school year about a month ago, I have requested that:

Teachers send me ONE graded paper per week per subject

I stipulate it must be a paper, graded, as opposed to their practice of simply showing the grade in an online gradebook called "Infinite Campus."

My intent is to SEE whatever the hell they're teaching, and if it is being learned. You cannot do this just by looking at the grade

I also stated that if I didn't see graded papers, then I'd need to see THEM AND the graded papers, and we could arrange a meeting.


WELL, apparently this is proving to be An Issue for which I must see the principal!!!???

It seems some teachers are just overwhelmed with the prospect of teaching anything that may be worth assessing the value on a weekly basis!!!!!

GODDAMN? WTF??

Am I being completely unreasonable???

Me. I don't worry about it. My 17 year old senior seems to already know EVERYTHING!!!

I'm worrying about it now.

I'm not gonna worry about it later.

 

[strollingbones]

you DO realize this is going on your permanent record?

 

[xotoxi]

Since the beginning of the school year about a month ago, I have requested that:

Teachers send me ONE graded paper per week per subject

I stipulate it must be a paper, graded, as opposed to their practice of simply showing the grade in an online gradebook called "Infinite Campus."

My intent is to SEE whatever the hell they're teaching, and if it is being learned. You cannot do this just by looking at the grade

I also stated that if I didn't see graded papers, then I'd need to see THEM AND the graded papers, and we could arrange a meeting.


WELL, apparently this is proving to be An Issue for which I must see the principal!!!???

It seems some teachers are just overwhelmed with the prospect of teaching anything that may be worth assessing the value on a weekly basis!!!!!

GODDAMN? WTF??

Am I being completely unreasonable???

Why don't they just send the graded assignments home with your spawn?

Isn't that how they do it? Or do teachers these days horde all the assignments?

Well, the slave isn't the most reliable conveyance...

Use these:

And the back of the shirt.

 

[Granny]

Good Lord - I always had homework every night in every subject (except PE of course). My biology teacher had strict requirements. We had to print all our papers by exacting standards or not be graded unless it was an “F.” No long-hand written work was acceptable. I always liked that little squiggly thing on the "g."

 

[ConHog]

Good Lord - I always had homework every night in every subject (except PE of course). My biology teacher had strict requirements. We had to print all our papers by exacting standards or not be graded unless it was an “F.” No long-hand written work was acceptable. I always liked that little squiggly thing on the "g."

By print, you mean on a Gugenheim press I imagine?

 

[asterism]

Since the beginning of the school year about a month ago, I have requested that:

Teachers send me ONE graded paper per week per subject

I stipulate it must be a paper, graded, as opposed to their practice of simply showing the grade in an online gradebook called "Infinite Campus."

My intent is to SEE whatever the hell they're teaching, and if it is being learned. You cannot do this just by looking at the grade

I also stated that if I didn't see graded papers, then I'd need to see THEM AND the graded papers, and we could arrange a meeting.


WELL, apparently this is proving to be An Issue for which I must see the principal!!!???

It seems some teachers are just overwhelmed with the prospect of teaching anything that may be worth assessing the value on a weekly basis!!!!!

GODDAMN? WTF??

Am I being completely unreasonable???

Yes, you are being unreasonable. You see, it's tough for a Theater Education major to teach Earth Science. It's really hard for a person with seven degrees, all related to Special Education and Athletics to teach Algebra. But that doesn't even scratch the surface, because there are all these new requirements like that SIX WEEK course on MICROSOFT WORD getting in the way of the History major struggling to teach Biology.

Then there's the problem of the Principal who is too busy with the grants for the new Library to put together a means to be in touch with the involved parents (since that's what he complained about for two years, bad students being the product of uninvolved parents) to take the EIGHT WEEK course on MICROSOFT OUTLOOK. So you see, you are just being unreasonable.

And don't even think about homeschooling your 10th grader because while your kid will be quite proficient in all the basics, she won't the get the "social skills" that public school teaches so well. Well unless they are like my kids, where they can socialize on the playground, at dance class, in church youth group, in scouts, and anytime our families get together. That's apparently not sufficient to the guidance counselor who has never had kids and thinks churches are oppressive and scouts is just a hotbed of racism and homophobia. He has a law degree (never passed the bar) so he knows these things.

BAH!

I applaud you for trying, but that's why my kids are in private school

 

[Cecilie1200]

Since the beginning of the school year about a month ago, I have requested that:

Teachers send me ONE graded paper per week per subject

I stipulate it must be a paper, graded, as opposed to their practice of simply showing the grade in an online gradebook called "Infinite Campus."

My intent is to SEE whatever the hell they're teaching, and if it is being learned. You cannot do this just by looking at the grade

I also stated that if I didn't see graded papers, then I'd need to see THEM AND the graded papers, and we could arrange a meeting.


WELL, apparently this is proving to be An Issue for which I must see the principal!!!???

It seems some teachers are just overwhelmed with the prospect of teaching anything that may be worth assessing the value on a weekly basis!!!!!

GODDAMN? WTF??

Am I being completely unreasonable???

What really amuses me about this is that teachers and other public school affiliates love to blame the declining quality of public education on a lack of parental involvement.