Vignette 9

Ryan’s Impending Doom!

            To ensure that what I report includes only data reflective of the students’ true achievement I would make the little things count to a point where it makes a difference to a students’ grade. For me I know that as a teacher we must follow the policies set by the government, district, and school, but in the case of Ryan I may have allowed him to re-do an assignment that he failed and either taken an average between the two or taken the higher grade to use for the report card. Another scenario that could be done is at the beginning of the year let the students know that their lowest mark of the semester would be dropped when it came to reporting time. As a teacher if you choose to do this it helps not only the struggling students but also the students who are very competitive with their grades.  I believe that for success for students’ in a case like Ryan’s, having a lot of mini assignments, and having a high weighting for attendance, attitude, and effort would be the best for them to receive a higher grade and allowing them to feel like they are not completely useless.

            I do not think, or choose not to think, that it is easier to fudge grades in one subject than another. I think that all teachers have a policy that they must follow so the nature of the subject has nothing to do with it. Either the student knows and understands the material or not, OR the student is able to and is improving in the subject area. This topic is hard for me because I believe in giving students second chances and providing them with the opportunity to succeed to their maximum potential. I guess as a teacher if you choose to give them a second chance than you have to be prepared to make the choice in either averaging the two grades or not counting the lowest grade in the reporting period. Also, there is so much talk about not having so much focus on grades and having a little more focus on non – achievement factors than in a case like Ryan’s the non – achievement factors should have been considered to make his grade at least a 50 %. I am still a little in the air about this topic . . .