Sorry in advance for the lengthy post. I have a question about a situation, some small details will be changed below for privacy. Starting in March, I changed the way I graded a certain homework assignment. I sent home a note, an email, and talked with students about it. It was a minor change and it was carefully explained. There should have been no wiggle room on it. Either the assignment was done the way I asked, or it wasn't, and they lost points accordingly. The way I was going to give points was extremely clear. Each assignment should take about thirty minutes to complete and is turned in once a week. One student, I'll call her Maria, is the daughter of a highly involved PTA (parent-teacher association) parent. Maria turned in the first assignment, Week 1: 1/4 points. Week 2: 2/4 points I email out a polite reminder all parents, again: make sure you remind your student to follow the directions!Week 3: 1/4 Week 4: 2/4 As this point, I get an email from Maria's mother, who regularly checks grades online. WHY does Maria have these failing grades on these assignments? (To me, it seems that she should have noticed these points then before week 4, but...) I let the parent know of the requirements, tell her I'll check with her daughter, and remind her that although the homework is important, it's not a huge part of the grade. No, I do not allow makeup work for this assignment, sorry. I talk to the daughter, make sure there are no questions and all instructions are completely understood.Week 5: 1/4 Week 6: 2/4 I get another email from the parent: she keeps getting a failing grade! WHY?? I explain that I've clarified the requirements multiple times. It really is (truly) an easy requirement to meet. She is not doing it. I ask her again if she has any questions. I have her show me that she indeed knows what to do to know whether she'll get the points. We scheduled a conference. The parent did not show. Later, I verbally confirmed in front of the parent, with the student, that the student knew what to do. Maria is grounded! Parent announces. She's going to take care of it right away! In a moment of weakness and surrounded by parent apologies about her misunderstandings, I cave (I shouldn't have, I completely know). Mostly I figure, if she'll do the learning, I'll give her points one time only since obviously mom is on her back. I give her explicit instructions (again) on what needs to be done. Parent says, okay, okay, we understand, and thanks me for the second (seventh?) chance. Maria turns in the work on Monday (Today). It is only one of the 6 assignments. In the gradebook, I give points for that one assignment. I thought that was being very reasonable. There is no reason this parent should expect otherwise, right? Later today, I get another email saying, "Did you make an error in the gradebook? Maria got all caught up and only one assignment grade was changed, not all of them." Here's why I'm hung up a bit. This parent is extremely involved in the PTA. Clearly there is some confusion on the assignment, but I also don't want to get labeled as an overly harsh teacher in the world of our PTA parents. I'm concerned that this parent may go and complain to others in our school community... "Ms. O had an error in the gradebook and wouldn't fix it! My Maria has been working so hard and Ms. O won't give her credit for that work!" It's not like she's blackmailing me or anything, we just have a very gossipy parent group. I know I'm in the right here, but these points are so small and at this point I'm irritated I've had to talk with this parent so much about it. Having this child go back and do 3+ hours of late homework for a very small amount of points is not worth it, for me, the child, or the parent. There should not be confusion. I have explained what needs to be done more than I should possibly need to explain. How do you deal with parents like these? And what would you do in this specific instance? Next year, apparently, I will have an incredibly specific policy on this in my syllabus. I did not plan for it this year, as the assignment is related to something the school really started to focus on in the second half of the year.
Stand strong. She should not get special treatment for being a PTA PITA. I know it can be tough---we have a school community similar to one you describe, and I had to give the school boards president's son his first ever C, as well as write him up once. It just sort of is what it is.You've bent over backwards as it is.
At this point, it's a will issue. As in, the student is choosing not to do the assignment correctly, the student made the choice not to correct the assignments. You were way nicer then I am. She'd take every failing grade she earned. As far as the parent goes, let her run her mouth. Does the PTA sign your paycheck? Do they influence it? Trust me, I've long since been labeled as a difficult teacher (and I've got the syllabus to back me up) and I just laugh at them.
I once had a parent years ago that contacted me over her daughter’s grade (99.6%). Of course, I then CC’d my admin and he later sorted this person, but I digress. Anyway, I was quite miffed that she insisted on having a meeting with me and I politely declined as I was not going to entertain a meeting over a practically perfect grade. The mother then pressed on and asked why her daughter doesn’t have a 100% in my class (AP Calc AB at the time), to which I replied, “Nobody’s perfect.” Her daughter was top student still and received an excellent letter of recommendation from me, so it’s all good, but the mother just felt the need to be a micromanager. I don’t understand why some parents are like this...
It's been a while since I have had to deal with grades, (teach kinder and only one grade per six weeks) anyway when I taught first grade I had two parents who were obsessed over grades. One was up set that her child's grade dropped from a 96 to a 94. I was like it's two points no big deal. It was to her. Then I had a child not do well on a paper. In fact he failed it. He had never failed anything in his life. Remember just first grade. In fact many of them did not do well on that assignment because they didn't follow directions. (btw this was the end of the year almost 2nd graders should have been following directions) Anyway the mom was mortified that he made a 40 on this paper. She asked if I would change the grade, i said no. She asked if he could do it again, I said no. Then she said well since you aren't budging I am not showing it to him. I said that is your choice. To this day she doesnt speak to me unless it absolutely necessary. There were other instances that year of how much power she thought she had because she was also the PTO president and her sister teaches at our school and they own half the country side. BTW that 40 didn't even drop his average down from the 100 he had. I gave a ton of other grades soooo it didn't even hurt it. Don't treat her or her kid any different just because they are the PTO president, the principal's kid, the superintendent kid or the Queen's kid. Kids are kids and they need to learn that power isn't everything, but following directions or turning in the work is everything!
Lucky you... We don't have the luxury of telling a parent "no" to a parent-teacher conference. So yeah. I've Sat through plenty of those and will tell them to their face this is what your child did, this is what they got, 2+2=4 and what them sputter. I then get the "Well that's not what they deserve!" Or my personal favorite Can't you just bump it up to a 100%?" No, I cannot. This is what they did, this is the points they earned based on that effort, this is the math that equals that grade. My other personal favorite when a student absolutely refuses to turn in homework all semester . Then they're barely passing or getting a C- and their parent is all confused. Well you see they haven't turned in homework all semester. Which as you can see all those zeroes really tank your average. Nope, sorry, there's no makeup homework allowed per the syllabus you and your child signed at the beginning of the semester...
Yup! That one! I'm very specific with my syllabus it's very detailed. It mentions the topics we'll be covering, a list of labs we could do (note there's way more than we could ever possibly complete), lab safety expectations, classroom expectations. There's my contact information, there's all of the policies and consequences. It even explicitly states 7 times that "Late assignments will not be accepted. The only exception to this is if you are absent from school with a valid reason and either give advanced warning or a retroactive note accompanied by a valid excused absence. All late/missing assignments will be counted as a 0". It's there 7 times, I counted. I have both the parent and student sign and date. Then when they throw it in my face, I whip that magical folder with all of those in it (in alphabetical order) and slowly flip to your page. Yes — I am THAT teacher.
I am going to do this next year! I already have them sign and date a very detailed syllabus but that binder idea is excellent.
So I'm very detailed-oriented. Show me the numbers, the data that supports what you're telling me. The patterns in the data don't lie. Thus, I keep records. I track patterns. So that when someone wants to act crazy, I bring out all that data and give it to you. Here you go, I'm not just pulling things out of thin air. Consequently, it also means things like that I hang on to, keep it ready for such an occasion that I should need it.
My favorite is when students are confused because they can’t figure out why a series of consecutive zeros lowers their overall grade. I’m like, “Really?”
I just write the formula for computing an average on the board and say, “If the numerator gets smaller, then your class average will decrease. SO, if you enter in a bunch of zeros, the resulting fraction is less.” I then stare at them for a few moments and then walk away.
I like their faces when they watch this video aimed at younger kids. It's like "Really? This is the level of dumb we've fallen?" Yup! Some of my students have difficulty with turning in homework. Which earns them zeroes. And the idea is that you could still technically pass, if you do well on the quizzes/tests and the labs. But there's a catch. The quizzes/tests are basically the homework. And it helps in the labs. So students and up suffering on one of the others.
My students understand this. What they DON'T understand is if homework is 10% of the grade and they currently have a 100% homework average, it won't help their grade if I put in more homework sccores. More homework scores, regardless of what they are, can only bring it down.
Whatever you do with this child's grades for this year is more of a learning experience for you than for this particular child and parent. I love some of the ideas that have been shared, since where I am at, a teacher would be obligated to conference with the parent who questions the grades. Having hard copies of all the documents that were provided and signed will go a very long way in heading these things off at the pass. To previous posters in this thread - you are so helpful and educational, and I appreciate it!
Otter, I am getting mixed messages from your post. Half of the post is spent talking about how important it is to do the assignment exactly how you expect. I may be wrong but it seems from what you are saying it is more form over substance. Then you continually say that the points are not that many. It isn't worth doing the 3+ hours of work to make up the assignments, etc. You even tell the child that the loss of points won't impact her grade that much which basically says the person saying it is so important to do assignments this way doesn't really matter all that much. I get even more confused when you say that . If this is the case, why are you so frustrated with the child and parent, if you admit they are confused? How does your change impact learning?
Our school uses a grade weighting system, and the category of "homework" is not worth much. Also, while it is helpful work, it's helpful in the week they do it. It's not going to be very beneficial if it all gets done at the end of the term. I can send you a pm that might make more sense, since I was trying not to get too specific.
I've been there, and I'm sorry. Can you respond that you were very pleased to extend grace to M. and that on the one assignment, number 7, she turned in she did a great job. Is it possible she left assignments 1-6 at home? Then, mom has to realize that either her child is playing her and is sabotaging, or that she was misled and precious has to do the remaining work. (I have had students do all the work with mom, only to have them turn in part of it. Don't assume it wasn't done, and give mom a chance to check it out.)
That's what it sounds like to me too. The parent shouldn't be so easily confused if the teacher explained everything so it sounds like the kid is playing her so obviously nothing is making sense.
I explain to students, parents alike; I grade (those tests I can grade this way) from the backside to the front; last to beginning where I do not see the student's name....in trying to let them know that I am not being discriminatory nor playing favorites with students. Still, I will have arguments; "well we didn't go over that part"...etc., etc., even though we have had ample review, lessons, you name it. Not much advice to give here sadly; just can relate to the cringeworthy feelings. Even arguments from students who are in the A/B range. The only other argument I can present is if I make allowances for you, I have to then make them for all. (and) what is the point of assessing anyway - it's the only way I can tell where a student is and where we need to go from here. (Especially from the well connected PTA group) and we wonder why we get the extreme of the celebrity university scandal. Ha!
It all depends upon the battles you want to fight. I had a high school senior that was failed all three quarters and was failing the fourth. I sent the required notice to the counselors that here was a senior in danger of failing English for the year. My principal got a hold of it and told me to give her all the make-up work from September to May, so she could pull up not only her current grade, but the grade of the other 3 quarters as well. He sent along a hand-written note, "I DO hope she completes all of her assignments." Message received, loud and clear. She got her four "Ds" for a year average of a "D" and graduated on time even though not one piece of paper ever crossed my desk from her.
They would have fired me before I passed that senior. I love my current seniors to death. And I flunked three of them and didn't bat am eyelash.
Schools are under terrible pressure to not have students marked as "failure to graduate" and, as such, admin puts terrible pressure on teachers to not fail students. It's a defunct and ineffective system all around. It results in giving diplomas to students for skills they don't have.
Yup and it's terrible and shouldn't be that way. But it is. Not to mention students who are athletes being passed on the merit of being an athlete alone. Or students perceived as being "difficult" students for this reason or that. All of them get passed for this reason or the next and then they get to the next teacher or out in life and either they fail or that next authority figure continues the cycle. You're stuck between a rock and a hard place. I believe this is what is wrong with the World, or at least partly. There's no accountability. Students have been taught that the authority figures in their lives can be persuaded to provide results that were not earned. The books can be "fixed". The rules can be bent, or disregarded completely. It starts at home with the parents, it's reinforced by teachers/admin at school when the student is growing up. Then they turn 18 get out into the World and either get slapped in the face because the rules are different or the system bends to their will.
