How much do you document?

[Mrs. K.]

Okay, here's the text in my form:

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF MISSING WORK
Mrs. K.'s 12CP Classes

I, ___________________, acknowledge that I did not submit the following assignment on the due date: ______________.

I also acknowledge that I was fully aware that this was a firm due date assignment, and that Mrs. K. will not accept any late work for such assignments.

Signature: _______________________ Date: _______________


I copied this onto some red paper that I had on hand, and I call it the Red Sheet.

[smalltowngal]

That's great, Mrs.K! Thanks!!!!

[Loves the beach]

Originally Posted by shouldbeasleep

It would depend on what I am supposed to be documenting for.

Special ed. evaluation
behavioral evaluation
speech referral
gifted ed

What is the purpose?

I am not sure, actually. I guess behavior issues. I have overheard other teachers say, "I would document that." So I wonder exactly how they new that the issue was worthy of being documented. I know that it is smart to document when a parent is making an issue out of things. Here is what I document:

1. Anytime I call a parent/guardian.
2. I keep all parent notes and make a note of how I replied.
3. I document cases of bullying and how I handled them.

That's really it. Whenever I think something could become an issue, that's when I document. But I know it is not realistic to document every single issue. For example: Is it necessary to document every time boys play wrestle on the playground? When no one gets hurt? Where do you draw the line?

I am assuming it is just up to the teacher's discression. But I'm wondering if anyone can provide me with some basic guidelines.

[japhyr]

It sounds like you're documenting most of what needs to be documented. You're certainly right, we can't document everything and we don't need to. If we are starting to see patterns, documenting might be a good idea. If we are not sure a student will follow through on a resolution to a problem, it can be useful. If boys play wrestle on the playground and stop when asked, it's not worth documenting. If the same boy always starts the wrestling, or refuses to stop, that's worth documenting.

The key to documentation is reporting objectively. What we observe happening, direct quotes when possible, and how we follow up are important. With an emphasis on being objective and concise, documentation is pretty straightforward and not very time consuming.