If your child brought home a note that was attached to their homework that said- "Your child had this four question assignment for 5 days and the work they turned in was incomplete and/or incorrect." What would you do?
First thank you for bringing this to my attention I will take care of this now. There is no reason not to have finished this assignment and I will be happy to find out the root of the issue so we can resolve this. Please keep me appeased if there are any more issues. Thank you for all you do
But I am guessing that is not the response given.
Probably more like why couldn't this have been done while my child was in class. I do not have time to deal with this and feed my 11 kids. This is your job not mine why cant you get my child to finish a simple assignment.
We are preparing for the state mandated standardized testing and instead of being all 'multiple guess' questions, it has several open ended/essay type questions. I figured that the parents needed to be aware of what was expected of their kids, so I sent a page with four open ended questions and an explanation of the testing format. The kids had 5 days to answer the questions and could use whatever resources they needed (textbook, Internet, help from parents). When I collected the papers, out of about 90 kids, nearly half: a.) had done nothing and turned in a blank page b.) turned in incomplete work c.) turned in work that was just wrong- like making up random crap to put on the paper that made no sense at all
On the day the assignment was due, I got notes from parents with excuses such as: the kid forgot their book, they don't have Internet, they did not have time, the child did not remember the information, etc... Kind of funny that it took 5 days to figure that out. One kid just copied goofy wrong answers from another, one turned in work that was obviously completed by an adult and when asked, he said that his mother did it, but he told her what to write. So, I asked him the questions and he could not remember anything that mom wrote down. When I compared test scores to the list of kids that did not complete this assignment, I could see that it was the same kids that scored low on nearly every test. Seeing the pattern of being unprepared, I sent an official 'discipline notice' with each student that did not complete the assignment correctly. A lot of the kids were mad at me because they were going to get into trouble. I explained that if they did not want to be in trouble, they should have taken the time to complete the assignment correctly. They had classtime to work on it in school if they wanted to, but not many took advantage of the opportunity. All it took was paying attention in class and recalling the details of things that had been discussed several times. I even read aloud one student's work as an example of what the correct answers could be, and they still could not complete the assignment because they did not pay attention. The angry parent emails are starting to come in now... I love my job
MaryJane, My step daughter actually used the "My dog ate my homework" excuse one time. As you might expect the teacher looked at her with one of those "Right, you just didn't bother to do it " expressions. Imagine her shock when my daughter pulled her book out and it was apparent that the dog found the book to have been very tasty, along with the home work inside of it.
I would ask them to sign it, or better yet, have them email/call.
Make sure the parent knows that the homework assignment exists...
Glad you brought that up- The kids are given a planner at the beginning of the year. I have an identical planner and each day, it is projected on the board with the current assignments written on it. The kids write the assignments in their planners and the parents are supposed to initial them daily. I wonder how many of the students that did not complete the work had their parents check the planner...Hmmmm.
Glad you brought that up- The kids are given a planner at the beginning of the year. I have an identical planner and each day, it is projected on the board with the current assignments written on it. The kids write the assignments in their planners and the parents are supposed to initial them daily. I wonder how many of the students that did not complete the work had their parents check the planner...Hmmmm.
God lord, I wish they were that organized around here...
There were a few times we wer enot aware of what was supposetd to be going on (with assignments or other stuff)
On the day the assignment was due, I got notes from parents with excuses such as: the kid forgot their book, they don't have Internet, they did not have time, the child did not remember the information, etc... Kind of funny that it took 5 days to figure that out.
Parents that arent parents.
I do applaud you for holding the kids accountable. It is a shame no one holds the parents accountable.
Teens that I meet today are know it all about everything, not saying we were any different at their age but they seem more interested in what is going on at YouTube or texting their friends than school work. Anything but what they are supposed to be doing for school work.
Maybe if they got off the idiotnet for 5 min they would have had the time to answer those 4 questions themselves or pay more attention in class and at least got some of the answers right?
Steve
------------------ Technology is great when it works, and one big pain in the ass when it doesn't
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[This message has been edited by 84fiero123 (edited 02-12-2016).]
I dont think I did 5 homework assignments in all 12 years of school. I got by just fine by acing tests. Most of my classes just deducted a point off your 6 week grade score for each assignment. You only needed a 60 ior 65 to pass. So that was 40 assignments I didnt have to do. If I missed more there was always something you could do for extra credit. As a senior, I was going to fail english, so I wrote a novel and ended up with a C. Ieven got called out during my History Final Exam for cheating. I got 100% on the test. I had a photographic memory and just told them I read the whole history book in the days before the test. They gave me a short verbal test that I also aced. Id just read the question and could mentally 'see' the page that covered it and write what I 'read'.
Let me guess, you are teaching high school kids? ... Maybe if they got off the idiotnet for 5 min they would have had the time to answer those 4 questions themselves or pay more attention in class and at least got some of the answers right?
Steve
Sadly, it is 4th grade. Two of the questions were straight out of the textbook and the other two were class discussions that were addressed several times: 1.) Why did Alabama attract many new industries in the late 1800's? 2.) During the late 1800's, many people moved to the area that would become Birmingham. Why? 3.) Describe the statue built by Birmingham's main industry. What was its name, who was it named for and why was the material chosen to build the statue? 4.) Who founded "Annie's Town?" When and why was it founded? What did its name become?
One of the kids wrote such good answers that I read hers to every class before the work was due so they would know what an appropriate answer would be. Pretty bad that they were given the right answers and just could not remember them long enough to write them down.
Obviously you are failing to teach these inattentive, unmotivated children being raised by their seemingly ignorant parents. Just give them all a passing grade so that their future grade teachers have the same issues, until they graduate (maybe) from high school then, take advantage of Bernie Sanders free college which will let them out into society unable to perform any meaningful work and collect welfare and breed a new round of inattentive, unmotivated children.
I dont think I did 5 homework assignments in all 12 years of school. I got by just fine by acing tests. Most of my classes just deducted a point off your 6 week grade score for each assignment. You only needed a 60 ior 65 to pass. So that was 40 assignments I didnt have to do. If I missed more there was always something you could do for extra credit. As a senior, I was going to fail english, so I wrote a novel and ended up with a C. Ieven got called out during my History Final Exam for cheating. I got 100% on the test. I had a photographic memory and just told them I read the whole history book in the days before the test. They gave me a short verbal test that I also aced. Id just read the question and could mentally 'see' the page that covered it and write what I 'read'.
That's the same way I got through school. My history teacher kept me after class once and said to me "I don't mind that you only show up 3 times a week, and sleep through class when you're here, but if you're pulling straight A's at least bring your book!" . So I did, I threw it under my desk and took a nap.
1.) Why did Alabama attract many new industries in the late 1800's?
Kinda tough to attract OLD industries, eh?
2.) During the late 1800's, many people moved to the area that would become Birmingham. Why?
They enjoyed city living?
3.) Describe the statue built by Birmingham's main industry. What was its name, who was it named for and why was the material chosen to build the statue?
B'hams main industry is pollution. The material chosen for the statue is/was soot (and rusty steel...see? I DO know the answer).
4.) Who founded "Annie's Town?" When and why was it founded? What did its name become?
Annie's Town was founded by a guy named Bob Anniston. (No relation to Jennifer. Annie was his mothers cousins 1/2 sisters aunts ex wifes college roommate.)
Just come on down Monkeyman, cause you just won a Brand New Jar!!! Yes this 2016 one full quart model, state of the art glass Ball jar and lid is yours to take away today for playing and winning on...........The Answer is Right!!
If your child brought home a note that was attached to their homework that said- "Your child had this four question assignment for 5 days and the work they turned in was incomplete and/or incorrect." What would you do?
I'm now retired and this is part of the reason why. First, my (students')parents would have sent back responses saying that I needed to proofread my notes to ensure that my antecedent and pronoun are either both singular or both plural. Then they would have made sure my administrators knew that I had made this grammatical blunder to deflect responsibility. Then they would have begged and pleaded for me to allow their children at least a couple more days to make up the work for full credit. Next they would have begged it down to partial credit. Finally, they'd come to the conclusion that retribution could still be had by having their children give me low scores on their Student Surveys (about 25% of my evaluation) and by doing poorly on the state test (about 50% of my evaluation) as the I'm the only one held accountable for those scores.
At my house, if that had been my child, he/she would suffer the teacher's consequences, and there'd be no joy at home until he/she could show hard evidence that not doing his/her school work was even a thought. I always told my children, "You chose how and when to mess up, I'll chose how and when to punish you."
I'm now retired and this is part of the reason why. First, my (students')parents would have sent back responses saying that I needed to proofread my notes to ensure that my antecedent and pronoun are either both singular or both plural. Then they would have made sure my administrators knew that I had made this grammatical blunder to deflect responsibility.
They would be wrong, but I understand the tactic- divert responsibility and blame someone else. The use of 'they' and its derivatives as a gender neutral singular pronoun has been accepted since the 14th century. Using it in formal English has increased with modern gender inclusive language to avoid using a gender specific pronoun when the gender of the antecedent is not known... I still have the handouts from that stupid 'inclusive language' workshop around here somewhere Most of it came from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singular_they
The kids have another assignment due Friday and I will repeat the process again for anyone that does not have their work. It is time to learn to be responsible. I'll let y'all know how it goes.
You would win a blue note for doing it wrong and not get to play Minecraft on Friday. Next week, if you want to play, you have to finish your work correctly On the actual ACT/Aspire, you would get partial credit because you wrote some sort of response. Oh, and your answers were better than some of the kids that were in class for the 3 days this stuff was discussed.
They would be wrong, but I understand the tactic- divert responsibility and blame someone else. The use of 'they' and its derivatives as a gender neutral singular pronoun has been accepted since the 14th century. Using it in formal English has increased with modern gender inclusive language to avoid using a gender specific pronoun when the gender of the antecedent is not known... I still have the handouts from that stupid 'inclusive language' workshop around here somewhere Most of it came from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singular_they
The kids have another assignment due Friday and I will repeat the process again for anyone that does not have their work. It is time to learn to be responsible. I'll let y'all know how it goes.
You have a singular "student" and a plural "they" in the same sentence. Thank God that's one training I missed. I guess I'm just too old? Anyway, I was debating whether I should go there or not, but that would have been what I would have received, so I threw it out there. I always found it amusing that if my students made mistakes 10% of the time, it was considered outstanding and excellent and get them a spot on the Honor Roll, but if somebody caught me making a mistake .01% they'd be sure to remind me of it. Good luck on that next assignment! Is your evaluation tied to test scores and student surveys? Ours was /is due to the RTTT grant our system received.
Originally posted by carnut122: You have a singular "student" and a plural "they" in the same sentence. Thank God that's one training I missed. I guess I'm just too old? Anyway, I was debating whether I should go there or not, but that would have been what I would have received, so I threw it out there. I always found it amusing that if my students made mistakes 10% of the time, it was considered outstanding and excellent and get them a spot on the Honor Roll, but if somebody caught me making a mistake .01% they'd be sure to remind me of it. Good luck on that next assignment! Is your evaluation tied to test scores and student surveys? Ours was /is due to the RTTT grant our system received.
I can tell that you are 'old school' because you double-space for the end of each sentence- haven't seen that since the days of the typewriter Unfortunately, times are changing. Something about the lack of a gender neutral singular pronoun got someone's panties in a ruffle. Yeah, I know... welcome to the wonderful world of education. We'll end up with a new word added to the English language before all is said and done. Anyway, thanks for wishing me luck. I ran into a couple of my students at Wal-Mart and they would not even speak, so I guess they were 2 of the 40ish that got upset about the reprimand. Thankfully, our system of evaluation is based on administrator observations and a mountain of paperwork so I don't have to worry about angry parents or kids with hurt feelings.
When you give the kids homework, email the assignments to the parents too. When the homework is turned in, grade them as is and accept no excuses. That includes any excuses from the parents too.
School is preparation for the real world. The consequences of failing to do job assignments can be far worse than a bad grade on a school assignment.
If your child brought home a note that was attached to their homework that said- "Your child had this four question assignment for 5 days and the work they turned in was incomplete and/or incorrect." What would you do?
I'm curious why the teacher did not send a copy of the assignment for me to review. (request a copy, review it and work with teacher to develop a plan that aligns with improving my child's performance)
I'm also curious why "my child" did not come to me before the teacher did. Seriously, If my child has a problem/objection to the assignment, they know to enlist my resources before blowing off or turning in incomplete work. All home work assignments are reviewed by myself or my wife "at the request of my child". Both girls understand that we are looking out for them. (get their side of the story, show them how it relates my expectations and their results and use the moment to restore and strengthen the relationship..)
It's all about the kid. - kids result's - kid's behavior - kid's motivation
Certainly poor teaching technique and parenting can influence your child's development. But nothing will destroy their future quicker than not being able or willing to seek help where they are failing short. Falling short, includes the performance of the teacher, parent and then the child.
I can tell that you are 'old school' because you double-space for the end of each sentence- haven't seen that since the days of the typewriter Unfortunately, times are changing. Something about the lack of a gender neutral singular pronoun got someone's panties in a ruffle. Yeah, I know... welcome to the wonderful world of education. We'll end up with a new word added to the English language before all is said and done. Anyway, thanks for wishing me luck. I ran into a couple of my students at Wal-Mart and they would not even speak, so I guess they were 2 of the 40ish that got upset about the reprimand. Thankfully, our system of evaluation is based on administrator observations and a mountain of paperwork so I don't have to worry about angry parents or kids with hurt feelings.
Yep, learned the double space at the end of the sentence in my high school typing class, in the 70's, on a Smith-Corona Electric Typewriter ( you might have to Google that one ).
When you give the kids homework, email the assignments to the parents too. When the homework is turned in, grade them as is and accept no excuses. That includes any excuses from the parents too.
School is preparation for the real world. The consequences of failing to do job assignments can be far worse than a bad grade on a school assignment.
Yep, learned the double space at the end of the sentence in my high school typing class, in the 70's, on a Smith-Corona Electric Typewriter ( you might have to Google that one ).
Interesting. I took typing in 10th grade. 1972-73. Learned on a manual Olympia typewriter. I don't remember anything about a double space at the end of a sentence.
I really learned to type in my present job. Typing ticket notes into trouble tickets will build your typing skills in a hurry. Too bad the techs never bother to read them.
I'm curious why the teacher did not send a copy of the assignment for me to review. (request a copy, review it and work with teacher to develop a plan that aligns with improving my child's performance)
Interesting. I took typing in 10th grade. 1972-73. Learned on a manual Olympia typewriter. I don't remember anything about a double space at the end of a sentence.
I really learned to type in my present job. Typing ticket notes into trouble tickets will build your typing skills in a hurry. Too bad the techs never bother to read them.
I guess I'll have to blame it on my public school education. Interestingly, while submitting my papers in American History for my Masters(mid 1980's), the History Department required Turabian Style and I never had a professor call me on the double spaces- even the 2 papers that could not have any Correcto-type or White Out on them. However, I looked at recent examples of Turabian, and it appears that there is now only one space. I'll play the old fart card and keep on typing this way. I'm still a pretty poor typist however.
...... Seeing the pattern of being unprepared, I sent an official 'discipline notice' with each student that did not complete the assignment correctly. A lot of the kids were mad at me because they were going to get into trouble. I explained that if they did not want to be in trouble, they should have taken the time to complete the assignment correctly. They had classtime to work on it in school if they wanted to, but not many took advantage of the opportunity. All it took was paying attention in class and recalling the details of things that had been discussed several times. I even read aloud one student's work as an example of what the correct answers could be, and they still could not complete the assignment because they did not pay attention. The angry parent emails are starting to come in now... I love my job
I did not mean to imply that had not properly reached out to the parents.
Apparently you care about your students. I have met educators who have the passion to be good teachers but lack the support required to achieve it. I have also met teachers who just show up, go through the motions and run for the exit almost trampling kids on the way out when the last bell rings.
I'm sure you've met several parents who think you are a tax payer funded babysitter. Likewise, you probably have a couple who think you are holding their (genus) child back instead of allowing them to excel. I had a family friend who tutored after school to supplement her teaching income. She gave up her teaching job and tutors full time after school. We thought she did it for the money. She said she is braking even after covering her own medical insurance and supplies. She chose to leave the system just to work with kids who have supportive parents. I get that. Her efforts will be more productive in that environment.
Originally posted by Cooter: Sadly, it is 4th grade. Two of the questions were straight out of the textbook and the other two were class discussions that were addressed several times: 1.) Why did Alabama attract many new industries in the late 1800's? 2.) During the late 1800's, many people moved to the area that would become Birmingham. Why? 3.) Describe the statue built by Birmingham's main industry. What was its name, who was it named for and why was the material chosen to build the statue? 4.) Who founded "Annie's Town?" When and why was it founded? What did its name become?
One of the kids wrote such good answers that I read hers to every class before the work was due so they would know what an appropriate answer would be. Pretty bad that they were given the right answers and just could not remember them long enough to write them down.
They are getting younger and younger at this, I do not envy you. a decade or so ago it would have been the teenagers in high school that thought all they had to do was show up.
My youngest grand son is going threw his second year as a freshmen, he doesn't do anything more than sign he name on tests, Grandma, Melanie told him if he didn't get his grades up and pass on he would be repeating first year for the 3rd time, and she wouldn't pay his cell phone bill anymore. He is bringing up his grades but who knows, now he has a girlfriend so all bets are off with that one.
Hell I was a straight C across the boards in high school after finding out about girls and drugs.
Most of it came from:
They are getting younger and younger at this, I do not envy you. a decade or so ago it would have been the teenagers in high school that thought all they had to do was show up.
