Grading

Our department at school has been having an ongoing conversation about how to grade students. Should we rely heavily on tests or on assignments? Should students be given a list of topics they need to master and be responsible for those topics and not receive a grade at all? Should students who can show mastery of academics but do not finish or turn in assignments receive the same grade as those who do? Elementary schools in the area have begun using a report card without letter grades. Each student receives a list of what was expected to be mastered and then a rating of whether proficiency has been attained. One of the problems with that is when they arrive in junior high and begin receiving grades they do not have the same meaning. We have many 7th graders who are struggling with completing assignments on time and keeping up with grades because they have never had importance. Beginning 7th grade is always a struggle especially with changes in expectations from teachers and organization but perhaps such an extreme difference in grading is not the best for students.

Notes from Parents and Students

Last Sunday I taught a lesson on gratitude. In the lesson a story is told of an 80 year old woman who was a teacher for 50 years and only received one letter of appreciation. I told the girls in my class that that was very sad and most teachers have a file somewhere full of notes and cards from parents and students who have said they are a good teacher. I for one have that file and as we wrote thankyou notes to someone I encouraged the girls to choose a school teacher who they liked or was doing a good job and write a note to them. Those kind little notes we receive really mean a lot on days that are especially rough. Teachers can pull them out and be reminded that there are good days and that teaching is not as bad as it seems at the moment. While I have had my share of notes, emails, and calls that are very negative and I know I can't please everyone all the time it is nice to have those little reminders of the good things I am doing and that they are making a difference in the life of someone else. At this time of Thanksgiving I hope we all can share some appreciation for someone in our lives who has made a difference. It doesn't matter if that is a teacher, a friend, or a relative but it is important to recognize the blessings we have and work hard to be a blessing in the life of another person.

No Homework?

I teach junior high. At this secondary level I expect my students to receive and complete homework over the weekend. Especially when I teach advanced classes that cannot allow us to not have an assignment one day out of 5. Now, I am not an evil person and I have rarely given homework over Thanksgiving or Christmas breaks, but I have given it over spring break and nearly every weekend whether it is a long weekend or not. Lately I have been getting a lot of complaints. Sadly they are not only coming from students but from parents as well. It seems that the parents think their child needs a break from homework over the weekend and it a time to spend with family. I have no problem with that, what I struggle with is the idea that parents are complaining becuase their child is beginning homeowork at 10 p.m. on Sunday evening. This not a problem with the homework but with the student. Wouldn't it be nice for any 8th or 9th grader to get to 10 p.m. on Sunday and realize that they can go to bed without worry because the homework was done on Friday afternoon!

Parent Teacher Conferences

Parent Teacher Conferences are always interesting to have. We have two traditional conferences where all the teachers are in the gym and parents stand in line to speak to us and we also have two student led conferences each year. When you meet parents for the first time it frequently elicits an "ah ha" moment. Suddenly the child is explained. My first year teaching I was terrified of conferences but they ended up just fine. One year I had a mother come to see me who was drunk and had forgotten her teeth. It was all I could do to keep it together and not bust out laughing at her behavior. Then there are the parents that you want to talk to the most but don't come. Last year we began our adventure into student led conferences. Each student creates a portfolio with an artifact (assignment or test) from each class with a reflection about how they are doing in the class and how they feel about it. Then parents come and sit down with their child and talk about how school is going. We have had mixed feelings from parents on this. Some parents absolutely love it because they don't have to wait in line forever and their child is responsible for their own learning. Other parents completely hate it because they feel like they are forced to have a conversation with their child and the school doesn't think they do that at home. We had some parents last year who organized a boycott against the student led conferences! Students don't like it because it is more work and they have to accept responsibility fo something.

How to Succeed in School

The majority of my students are 9th graders and so when they enter my class they are also entering high school. On the first day of school I give them four simple keys on how to do well in high school:

#1: Come to class!
#2: Listen!
#3: Do what the teachers asks!
#4: Ask questions!

They always laugh becuase my steps are so funny and seemingly ridiculous things that everyone should know, however, it seems that all students and their parents do not know these simple things. You must be in class to get the information. If you listen in class you will cut your study time in half. If you do what your teachers ask you to do when they ask you to do it you will not get behind and your grade will stay high. If you get stuck there is always someone willing to help. It sounds so simple but it is amazing that these four simple things are the things that can make or break a grade and a learning experience.

WELCOME!

Welcome to all those who are viewing my new blog! The name Gooey Stewie may seem strange for an educational blog but my husband thought the name should rhyme and my students call me Mrs. Stewie so it seemed appropriate. I have been teaching for 7 years and have lots of opinions about teaching, school, and school related issues. Feel free to comment and share your views about anything related to education.
We have now been in school for 14 days. The beginning of the year is always so fun because students are on their best behavior and are really interested in learning. They are ready to turn over a new leaf and be better than last year. I wish those thoughts would continue throughout the year. The first day of school a sweet girl told me she would be missing Friday and the following week because her family was going to Hawaii. Now, I would love to go to Hawaii too but I just had 3 months of summer vacation to do whatever I wanted and so did she. Why is she missing the entire second week of school when we just came back from vacation? As teachers we are charged with the duty of teaching all the children who are placed in our classrooms. We do the best we can with large class sizes and limited budgets and in Utah we do extremely well, but for students to learn at all they must BE IN CLASS! Our school failed Adequate Yearly Progress last year because we failed in one of the 40 categories. Students with special needs had only a 91% attendance rate when they needed 93% to pass. We increased achievement in all 40 categories but were published in the newspaper as a failing school because students were not in school as much as expected. The Utah legislature says parents can take their children out of school whenever they want and yet teachers are responsible and degraded when they don't learn.