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| No Slacker Left Behind |
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Sunday, June 08, 2008
So many people, so many laws against it ....
5 comments:
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Squeak said...
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And here I had to work a real job just to put Myself true community college.
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6/8/08, 5:37 PM
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Anonymous said...
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Some years back, while teaching a high-school senior AP English class for college credit, I assigned the fall-semester research paper. Each student had to sign and return a handout to me acknowledging the minimal criteria:
1500 words, not counting footnotes, Works Cited, title, appendices, glossary, or end notes
typed, double spaced, and in MLA format
must discuss one topic from the authorized list (I gave them about 75 topics to choose from)
minimum of 5 major secondary sources (newspapers and such are not major sources)
at least 2 footnotes and running-text-line gloss (end-gloss optional)
each egregious grammar flaw (comma splice, run-on, frag, subj-verb disagreement) costs one letter grade
failure to meet minimum word count costs one letter grade
each school day late costs one letter grade
After all, they wanted to be treated like college adults, so I applied the same rules I did to my university students.
One student failed to turn her paper in on time. When she finally did submit it, over a week late, it was barely 800 words, did not address any of the authorized topics, used only 2 major secondary sources, and was hand written. Further, in those 800 words were several major and minor grammatical errors.
Obviously the submission was a total failure, so that’s the mark it got. My note to the student reminded her that she hadn’t met even the minimum standards for high school research papers in that school district, much less college-level work.
Her mother called the next day and leaped on my case, saying that I was destroying her daughter’s chances for academic success and very possibly ruining her whole life. Her argument was that since the girl had turned SOMEthing in, she deserved at least a C, because failing grades demotivate students and shatter their self-confidence.
When I enumerated the criteria to which her daughter had agreed by signing and returning the handout, the woman countered that she didn’t understand what she was signing. So I answered that if she can’t read, she doesn’t belong in a senior English class, much less a college-credit class which requires research papers. I also told her that of the 28 students who HAD followed the rules, all received either A or B grades except for one or two C+s.
The mother then complained to the department head, who told her that I was faculty from the university and didn’t work for her. So she attacked the principal, who backed me up completely and said that sometimes one of the greatest lessons a person can learn in high school is dealing with reality.
Twit begetting twit. -
6/8/08, 6:02 PM
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Anonymous said...
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I have done some long term substitute teaching in a large Metro alternative school (school for screw ups who do drugs or fight).
It seems we actually used that system of giving some credit for anything on paper just to keep the little felons engaged in trying to do minimal work.
Yes, the kids are smart enough to work the system for their perceived benefit and it makes no sense to give credit to kids who are not performing anywhere close to their grade level.
Before I bailed out I called it nothing more thatn 'play school' since it rewarded the anti-social learning behavior of the slackers and it did not allow the kids who wanted to get ahead an actual feeling of accomplishment and measure of effort.
I know there are a lot of teachers working hard to educate students in a meaningful way but I am afraid the system is broken and no one wants to find out how to fix it. -
6/8/08, 7:57 PM
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Anonymous said...
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My daughter did her science fair project this year on how the color of light impacts plant growth. (The year before, she built a trebuchet. Yes, that's right. I'm raising a militaristic child.)
She got a couple of big-azz aquariums, potting soil, grow lights, and four bell pepper plants. But she didn't get a scholarship to Duke. -
6/9/08, 11:54 AM
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Squeak said...
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Awesome! Botany and ballistics.. The last science fair I entered almost 20 years ago, mine was on aerospace mechanics and fluid dynamics. 3 months of research and a 30 page typed and working scale models for demonstration..
It was the first time I lost, I was one of those kids that always got at least second place sometimes first.
I love the light and bell pepper idea, I find photosynthesis fascinating.. And I love gardening. LOL -
6/9/08, 5:54 PM
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