Nebraska Change Agent
' I am entirely certain that twenty years from now we will look back at education as it is practiced in most schools today and wonder how we could have tolerated anything so primitive.' John W Gardner
Sep
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Do As I Say and Not As I Do
Filed Under (Uncategorized) by Beth Still on 29-09-2010
I am taking a Philosophy of Education class this semester and one of the assignments is to write our philosophy paper. Parts of this paper have been a breeze while I have really struggled with other sections of it. The area where I have struggled the most is on late work. I teach at a very small school alternative school and I typically only have 35 students spread across four classes. While we have an across the board “no homework” policy, we do not have a school-wide policy on late work. It has always been up to the individual teacher to determine his or her own policy. This is my sixth year at this school and I have changed my policy slightly each year. I have tried everything from the very strictest policy to the most lenient. Right now my policy states that a student must make up any work that they missed by the Friday of the following week. (Friday’s are a makeup day for students and planning time for teachers.)
Most students can get their work completed in this time frame, but sometimes they don’t. I do not take a tremendous number of grades during the quarter so even one or two zeros can impact their overall grade. As I work through a fair policy I have asked myself some questions. What is a grade supposed to represent? Is it supposed to reflect learning? Achievement? Demonstration of knowledge? The one thing a grade should NEVER reflect is behavior. (Obviously there are some exceptions for that rule like forgetting to put on safety goggles during lab time.) From time to time I have students ask to turn in work well beyond the due date. If they have done the work as long as it is within the grading period, then I feel I have a responsibility to take it for FULL credit. They have done the work and they have demonstrated their knowledge. What right do I have to take any credit from them? If they earn a 100% of the points, but I take half off then what does that 50% truly represent? It certainly does not represent their grasp of the content. How can teachers justify this?
The excuse I hear most often from teachers is they worry there will be this massive flood of late work that comes pouring in the night before grades are due and it will be INCONVENIENT for them to grade all of it. It you are one of those teachers then you really need to re-examine why you are in education. If going a little above and beyond for your students is inconvenient for you then you are definitely in the wrong profession.
I realize I have 35 students and many of my colleagues have well over 100, but how many students do you think will drag their feet until the last second? If they are behind in your class then they are probably behind in other classes as well. I teach students who have come to my school because the traditional system has failed to meet their needs. Many times the drop out because they are failing all of their classes because they have missed arbitrary due dates and they have been told they won’t pass the class no matter what they do. If more teachers took a more compassionate approach to grading then maybe more students would stick it out. I realize students need to learn to be held accountable, but using grades against them is not the way to do it. At some point along the way some teachers decided it was perfectly acceptable to use grades as a way to get students to comply with their demands. They hold grades over the heads of their students and say things like, “If you do not make this up you will not pass this class.” When teachers make threats like that it creates a power struggle between the teacher and the student. The students who come from ahome where grades are everything will dutifully comply and thank their lucky stars that they are even getting a little bit of leniency. However, the vast majority of students who place a high value on mutual trust and respect within a relationship understand they are being threatened in a very underhanded manner and they will not comply. They would rather walk out the door and throw their education away than take orders from someone who they feel has disrespected them.
I was discussing this matter with a very wise friend who just so happens to be an administrator. He told me the way he gets his staff to realize that they need to cut their students some slack is he asks them if they have ever missed a deadline. If so, would they appreciate it if their pay was docked? Most of us have been late a time or two with deadlines. Are we really willing to tell our students that it is acceptable for adults to blow off deadlines, but as students they have to be perfect? We are all human and we all mess up. We need to cut each other some slack and we need to take a moment to stop and think about what that letter grade really represents at the end of the grading period.
12 Responses to “Do As I Say and Not As I Do”
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September 29th, 2010 at 9:39 p
I have struggled with this as well. I have over 300 online students and do not have any late penalties in my courses. Students can turn in an assignment that was due in Week 1 all the way up to the night before the last day of the semester. Sure, its hard to grade a lot of this work but I’m supporting my kids and giving them a chance to learn and succeed rather than cutting off that opportunity or penalizing for not being a good student or more mature, or better organized, or more motivated.
I spend a lot more time working on Interventions for kids who are late on assignments. I go back and work with them on the assignment to try and figure out what the problem is (since so many can’t put it in words). I call home and talk to the parents to help with motivation. I also try to speak with each of them either by email or f2f every week. These interventions help reduce that flood of work teachers worry about coming in late.
September 29th, 2010 at 9:52 p
Cory,
I remember a couple of years ago you and I discussed this subject and I remember thinking how lenient you were with your policy. Over time I started to see that you were right and I was—well—not so right. (OK—I was flat out wrong!) Over the last year it has become increasing apparent to me that as a teacher it is my job to teach. It isn’t my job to pull the rug out from under my students when they do not comply with my rules and arbitrary due dates that are only put in place for my convenience.
Like you, I teach online courses as well. I struggle with how to handle work in those classes as well. Students are expected to complete a certain amount of work during the semester so I pace it so the average student can keep up. We don’t blast through the work, but we don’t creep alone either. I set due dates to help set the pace, but I always allow students to turn in work until the end of the grading period. In the end if students don’t turn in work I have no choice but to fill in blanks with zeros. (Same thing with my f2f students.) Ultimately, I feel this is teaching them to be more responsible because they are the ones making the decision to complete the work or not.
Thanks so much for your comments and your guidance over the years.
September 29th, 2010 at 2:36 p
Beth: this is exactly what Ken O’Connor advocates in Grading for Learning.
Grades have become so meaningless, because too many teachers include behaviors and effort in the academic grades. I am in no way saying that behaviors and efforts are less important. They are VERY important!! But they should be reported separately from the academic grade. If a student earns an 60% in the class, does that tell me he/she understands the content at an 60% mastery level? Or does it mean that he/she understands it at a 100% mastery level, but doesn’t turn in work on time?
What about the kid who doesn’t care about his/her grade? “Punishing” by taking points off grade makes no impact on that child!
I wish I could go back to my first 6 years of teaching and re-do all the grading I did back then, because I was wrong. I would NOT allow students to take a zero.
One of the high schools in Josh Allen’s district has a “9th hour.” It’s part of the regular school day. Kids who turn their work in on time are allowed some freedoms and participate in some additional enrichment activities. Kids who do not turn in their work on time are required to report to the teacher(s) for whom they have late work. They can’t leave the building until the work is done. If they’re late for athletics or other extra-curricular activities, too bad. After talking to the admin and teachers there… they said it’s a completely different culture now! Students WANT to get their work in on time!
This also more clearly resembles most jobs and professions. If you don’t finish your work when it needs to be done, then you stay until it’s done. You don’t get to say, “Ah… give me a zero. I’m not going to finish this.”
So glad you have the opportunity to take this class! (and sorry my comment is so long, but this is a HUGE passion of mine!)
September 29th, 2010 at 4:02 p
No apologies necessary! I wish I could redo so much from my first years, too. I felt the need to prove I was in charge the first few years and grades were my weapon of choice to back that up. For a few years I even did “participation” points which counted for 25% of their overall grade. I cringe when I think of that now. What kind of teacher does that? I always worried that I would not be able to manage a class without leverage, but come to find out classroom management is one of my greatest strengths. It comes from doing what Cory said he does. He and I take time to build relationships and get to the bottom of why students are not turning in work. Sometimes I find it is out of laziness, but most of the time it is deeper than that. It is my responsibility to figure out why and do what I can to remedy the problem.
I really like the idea of 9th hour. We would like so much to mandate that students are here on Friday’s if they are behind, but they also are required to work as part of our program. We can’t force them to be in two places at once!
September 29th, 2010 at 3:01 p
Couldn’t agree more. I make the same argument about not having supplies. It’s amazing how some teachers will go after students for making the same slight errors most adults make regularly.
September 29th, 2010 at 4:13 p
It took me four years of teaching to realize the error of my ways. It was hard for me to say my original philosophy was flawed. Imagine someone who has been teaching for 10, 20, or 30 or more years. Even if they come to the same realization I did, will they have enough courage to change their policy? It is not easy to admit that something you have done for years might not be so student-friendly.
September 29th, 2010 at 8:06 p
Beth, Great thoughts and ideas. Now, I think I know a bit of the history of that tweet last night
This is a huge topic of discussion at work as the building tries to work out a late work/absent student policy.
The whole section on participation points has me thinking even more. I still include this as part of my grades – because that is what everyone I know does. Hmm, you’ve got me thinking. However, my participation is based on things like being prepared, on time, etc. There was a listing of workplaces skills somewhere that I used to create it. It made perfect sense as a business teacher to do that, but you’ve got me thinking.
Generally, I do a two day late work policy but I also recognize that there are extenuating circumstances that come up and are often beyond a students control so there are always exceptions to this policy. I also would never let a child fail my course over this either.
As a parent of a seriously ADHD young man who has an IQ way up there but who gets poor grades because he forgets to bring in an assignment, buries it in the locker, leaves it on the bus or the kitchen table, etc, I get really frustrated when he doesn’t get to hand it in late. He had a teacher last year who knew something (that was already late) was in his locker but he would not send my son back to get it so he could hand it is. It was easier to give the zero. He gets very high grades on his end of year exams so I know he knows the material, but his yearly grades are pathetic all because of missing/late work.
Oh my, I have much to think about and consider.
Thanks
September 29th, 2010 at 8:34 p
Tammy,
Thank you so much for your thoughts. I think as a business teacher the way you have your participation points set up makes perfect sense. Those skills are relevant to your subject area. What I really want people to think about as they read this post is what the grade a student receives at the end of the marking period really represents. In your son’s case his grades do not represent his ability. They represent his absentmindedness and that is not fair. I’m glad I got you to think about this issue with me. That is the highest compliment I could ever receive.
September 29th, 2010 at 10:32 p
Thanks for this post.
The other day I started class 5 minutes late. When I started class, I apologized to my students for the delay. I usually have this kind of brief delay once or twice a semester. I told them that this is the reason I don’t get too upset if they arrive in class a few minutes late a time or two. Why should I get their forgiveness when they do not get mine?
The same is true for late work. A few weeks ago I had an assignment to grade. I told them I would have it back to them within a week. Some personal commitments came up, and I didn’t have my feedback completed as promised. Life happens to them, just as it does to me. I think that being understanding goes a long way with students. I do want to grade them on learning, not life circumstances – thanks for articulating that “sinking feeling” I had sometimes when enforcing a rule I did not always follow myself.
If I feel that a student is being malicious or taking advantage of the somewhat relaxed understanding we have with each other, I will speak to them personally to see if there is something going that needs to be addressed.
Beth
September 30th, 2010 at 3:54 p
I have been struggling with the same thing. Particularly because I am in a school where many teachers are about accountability (for behavior as well).
One of the things I’ve been grappling with is making kiddoes understand that its about the process& the pride you have in your own work & accomplishments.
It is obvious how thoughtful& reflective you
are. Because of this you will definitely create something that works for your students& that you are comfortable with.
September 30th, 2010 at 5:18 p
One thing a teacher must also do is determine the difference between fake and real deadlines. If you place a deadline of Friday on an essay for no reason other than the fact that it is convenient for the teacher, then does it really matter when it is handed in? Kids know fake deadlines…
But what would happen if we started to create real deadlines? Example, the essay that is due on Friday because it’s being put into the mail so the class in CT has enough time to get it, read it, and send it back. The essay needs to be done on Friday because you will be reading them to the live webcam audience. Your blog post needs to be done by Wednesday at 10:30 because the class in Colorado is is walking into their class expecting to read it.
Move the assignments to be real world and deadlines no longer become fake. Sometime when we get caught up creating our philosophies about grading/homework/tests/quizzes/behavior rules it’s because we are trying to create an environment from scratch that will prepare kids for the “real world,” instead of just using what is “real” for our guide. Last week I was asked for my locker combinations…fake deadline, I still haven’t handed them in. Tomorrow my evaluation paperwork is due…real deadline, no way I am missing it. School should be the same…yes? If all work can be late, what have we modeled for the kids?
September 30th, 2010 at 8:45 p
Paul,
I think it goes without saying that there are some assignments that must have real (hard) deadlines. Collaborative group work, blog posts, discussion forums, and other assignments that all things that must be done by a certain date so others can comment. I would hope that teachers allow assignments with “fake” deadlines a lot of wiggle room.