Every teacher knows that the end of the year brings all sorts of motivation to our students. Those who want to get the high GPAs are grabbing at straws to get higher grades while those who have done very little work the entire semester are finally coming in for extra help. it brings to mind the phrase, "your emergency is not my emergency" more often than not.
That being said I always try to offer extra support at the end of the year through review guides for my final exam, providing more "office hours" to students who need extra help, and checking my email more frequently for those with questions. Despite that, students still fail and still blame me for it. And it sucks.
What I really want to focus on with this entry, though, is how teachers are often pressured by the education system around us (schools, districts, tenure policies) to inflate grades in order to increase passing rates. Yes, I understand that there should be some leeway and students who need a 65% to pass but only have a 63% should get the benefit of the doubt. But I have a hard time granting that students who come in late to class daily or consistently disrupt and complete no work are deserving of that leniency.
It is often an internal and external conflict of mine when this takes place because I want to make sure my students are prepared for their next years of high school and if they fail, perhaps there is some legitimacy that I did not do enough to ensure their success. But the onus is on them as well. I know many will call me callous for putting responsibility on them but I think it is valid to do so and am happy to discuss further.
In the end, I doubt I'll have to make too many changes to my grade book and hopefully will get an accurate picture of what my students know and remember. More importantly, I hope whatever grades they get in the end they understand as coming from them and not being doled out bye an unfair teacher.
That being said I always try to offer extra support at the end of the year through review guides for my final exam, providing more "office hours" to students who need extra help, and checking my email more frequently for those with questions. Despite that, students still fail and still blame me for it. And it sucks.
What I really want to focus on with this entry, though, is how teachers are often pressured by the education system around us (schools, districts, tenure policies) to inflate grades in order to increase passing rates. Yes, I understand that there should be some leeway and students who need a 65% to pass but only have a 63% should get the benefit of the doubt. But I have a hard time granting that students who come in late to class daily or consistently disrupt and complete no work are deserving of that leniency.
It is often an internal and external conflict of mine when this takes place because I want to make sure my students are prepared for their next years of high school and if they fail, perhaps there is some legitimacy that I did not do enough to ensure their success. But the onus is on them as well. I know many will call me callous for putting responsibility on them but I think it is valid to do so and am happy to discuss further.
In the end, I doubt I'll have to make too many changes to my grade book and hopefully will get an accurate picture of what my students know and remember. More importantly, I hope whatever grades they get in the end they understand as coming from them and not being doled out bye an unfair teacher.
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