praise a teacher giving late penalty

[Anonymous]

OP I’m glad you are happy but my HS magnet student is having real trouble keeping up and I’m glad teachers are offering some Grace right now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD came back complaining a severe penalty for late homework, making her nearly in the same position of turning in nothing. She might even get a C as the interim grade in this MS magnet core course. I actually appreciate this teacher very much. This could be the most effective way of teaching her the importance of being on time. Thank you teacher!

Sounds punitive and inflexible.

But if you think it's great, then you should send an e-mail to the teacher.

Is there some reason a policy shouldn’t be punitive when it comes to kids blowing deadlines?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD came back complaining a severe penalty for late homework, making her nearly in the same position of turning in nothing. She might even get a C as the interim grade in this MS magnet core course. I actually appreciate this teacher very much. This could be the most effective way of teaching her the importance of being on time. Thank you teacher!

Sounds punitive and inflexible.

But if you think it's great, then you should send an e-mail to the teacher.

Is there some reason a policy shouldn’t be punitive when it comes to kids blowing deadlines?

NP, but it is more important to me that teachers do everything they can to support kids' learning than it is that they teach them to "respect deadlines" and respond well to demanding a**hats who insist on inflexibility.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD came back complaining a severe penalty for late homework, making her nearly in the same position of turning in nothing. She might even get a C as the interim grade in this MS magnet core course. I actually appreciate this teacher very much. This could be the most effective way of teaching her the importance of being on time. Thank you teacher!

Sounds punitive and inflexible.

But if you think it's great, then you should send an e-mail to the teacher.

Is there some reason a policy shouldn’t be punitive when it comes to kids blowing deadlines?

What's more important: teaching kids to dread authority or teaching kids to enjoy learning?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP, but it is more important to me that teachers do everything they can to support kids' learning than it is that they teach them to "respect deadlines" and respond well to demanding a**hats who insist on inflexibility.

This is oversimplified, black and white thinking. Clearly you are not a teacher, who lives in the nuanced, complicated, multi-faceted grey every day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD came back complaining a severe penalty for late homework, making her nearly in the same position of turning in nothing. She might even get a C as the interim grade in this MS magnet core course. I actually appreciate this teacher very much. This could be the most effective way of teaching her the importance of being on time. Thank you teacher!

Sounds punitive and inflexible.

But if you think it's great, then you should send an e-mail to the teacher.

OP here. That is exactly my DD's point. She said in this scenario she would rather turn in nothing. I didn't respond but smiled at heart: No, you won't, because you know other kids are turning in on time.

What she will actually do remains to be seen, doesn't it? Don't smile at heart too early.

Exactly. She definitely learned for next time (though people are human and make mistakes, so she will miss another deadline at some point), but there is no reason for her to complete this particular assignment. At this point, her time and effort is better spent elsewhere. So when she turns in nothing for this assignment and you scold her for it, at least try to remember that she made the smart choice. And when the point of school is to learn, the inflexibility provides a disincentive for students to do the work that they missed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP, but it is more important to me that teachers do everything they can to support kids' learning than it is that they teach them to "respect deadlines" and respond well to demanding a**hats who insist on inflexibility.

This is oversimplified, black and white thinking. Clearly you are not a teacher, who lives in the nuanced, complicated, multi-faceted grey every day.

If students are overwhelmed and can't meet the deadlines, particularly in this immediate post-pandemic, I think the impulse should be to help the student. A small penalty may be in order, but it shouldn't be punitive and prevent the student who does excellent work from getting a good grade. I am not so sure what is so nuanced and gray about encouraging children to finish assignments and not feel completely defeated? Is it unfair to the students who do the work on time? Does it cause an avalanche of late work to the inconvenience and possible detriment of the teacher? Do we need admin policies to help teachers address the reality of accepting and grading more late work?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh no! Not a C! (clutching pearls). Just kidding. My kid's private school has late penalties in every class. One day late= half credit. Two days late= a zero. A real zero. Not a default 50%. Limits applied consistently are part of why I pay money for private school.

You sound like a teacher I had in college who told us that if you missed a deadline at orked you would be fired! Not exactly true. While I do think kids should be accountable, a strict inflexible policy does not promote learning. I would rather the kid did the work and got it in late then failed the class.

I would get put on a PIP if I missed more than two deadlines. I'm glad my teachers taught me to respect deadlines. Unless your child has a trust fund, they will probably have a boss one day. They should be prepared for that.

Oh no not a PIP! Is that like a sticker chart in Kindergarten? In all the professional environments I have worked in, sure deadlines are important but it is the real world. Things are beyond anyone's control. Illnesses, shipping delays, technology issues, there are many reasons things do not go according to plan and might be a day late. A good boss is aware and supports staff.

[Anonymous]

Our private also very clearly states that homework is due on the specified date. My 5th grader is learning the importance of completing work on time. They have a percentage deducted if the assignment is late this encouraging them to still turn in the assignment and learn. The teacher also notes that for specific circumstances the kids could reach out to the teacher ahead of the deadline if necessary. Not teaching the importance of meeting deadlines is a huge disservice to kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh no! Not a C! (clutching pearls). Just kidding. My kid's private school has late penalties in every class. One day late= half credit. Two days late= a zero. A real zero. Not a default 50%. Limits applied consistently are part of why I pay money for private school.

You sound like a teacher I had in college who told us that if you missed a deadline at orked you would be fired! Not exactly true. While I do think kids should be accountable, a strict inflexible policy does not promote learning. I would rather the kid did the work and got it in late then failed the class.

NP. Sometimes people are fired for missing deadlines at work. I know a lawyer who was disbarred for missing a deadline that caused someone to lose an inheritance.

[Anonymous]

My kid is very good about submitting assignments on time, but, I also know that some of the kids are having mental health issues due to many reasons and I think it is not healthy for schools not to be flexible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD came back complaining a severe penalty for late homework, making her nearly in the same position of turning in nothing. She might even get a C as the interim grade in this MS magnet core course. I actually appreciate this teacher very much. This could be the most effective way of teaching her the importance of being on time. Thank you teacher!

Somebody is exaggerating something here. A “severe penalty” for late work is at most 10% of the assignment. The homework category is 10% of the grade. Say there are 5 assignments in that category. That makes each assignment worth 2% of the grade. A 10% penalty on 2% is 0.2% of the grade. Hardly an effect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP, but it is more important to me that teachers do everything they can to support kids' learning than it is that they teach them to "respect deadlines" and respond well to demanding a**hats who insist on inflexibility.

This is oversimplified, black and white thinking. Clearly you are not a teacher, who lives in the nuanced, complicated, multi-faceted grey every day.

If students are overwhelmed and can't meet the deadlines, particularly in this immediate post-pandemic, I think the impulse should be to help the student. A small penalty may be in order, but it shouldn't be punitive and prevent the student who does excellent work from getting a good grade. I am not so sure what is so nuanced and gray about encouraging children to finish assignments and not feel completely defeated? Is it unfair to the students who do the work on time? Does it cause an avalanche of late work to the inconvenience and possible detriment of the teacher? Do we need admin policies to help teachers address the reality of accepting and grading more late work?

As a teacher who wrote our school's middle school late work policy, there definitely is a lot more nuance to it than is being reflected here. For example, the point of thoughtfully assigned homework is to reinforce lessons learned in class. It does not do any student any good to try to make up tons of late work at the end of the quarter, when the class has long moved on from the material covered. Yes, it creates a grading back up, but it also defeats the whole reason the assignment was given in the first place. Also, we of course recognize and deal with true exceptions for illness every day. At the end of the day the parents overwhelmingly are grateful, as is the OP, for the lessons their children are learning by experiencing consequences for late work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP, but it is more important to me that teachers do everything they can to support kids' learning than it is that they teach them to "respect deadlines" and respond well to demanding a**hats who insist on inflexibility.

This is oversimplified, black and white thinking. Clearly you are not a teacher, who lives in the nuanced, complicated, multi-faceted grey every day.

If students are overwhelmed and can't meet the deadlines, particularly in this immediate post-pandemic, I think the impulse should be to help the student. A small penalty may be in order, but it shouldn't be punitive and prevent the student who does excellent work from getting a good grade. I am not so sure what is so nuanced and gray about encouraging children to finish assignments and not feel completely defeated? Is it unfair to the students who do the work on time? Does it cause an avalanche of late work to the inconvenience and possible detriment of the teacher? Do we need admin policies to help teachers address the reality of accepting and grading more late work?

As a teacher who wrote our school's middle school late work policy, there definitely is a lot more nuance to it than is being reflected here. For example, the point of thoughtfully assigned homework is to reinforce lessons learned in class. It does not do any student any good to try to make up tons of late work at the end of the quarter, when the class has long moved on from the material covered. Yes, it creates a grading back up, but it also defeats the whole reason the assignment was given in the first place. Also, we of course recognize and deal with true exceptions for illness every day. At the end of the day the parents overwhelmingly are grateful, as is the OP, for the lessons their children are learning by experiencing consequences for late work.

I get your point MS teacher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You know what would be even better: as a parent monitoring her schoolwork and ensuring that it was turned in. Good for the teacher but you are a lazy parent.

I hate these “lazy parent” posts. Why is it the parents’ responsibility to make a child turn in an assignment? And at what age does it stop? Is the child attending school or the parent?

“Lazy Parent” Broad is over on the “when did parenting become so involved” thread. She’s having a field day over there.

“Broad” is tacky, dated and sexist (are you 80?j and I’ve used “lazy parent” when applicable over the last year and a half, but not on that thread. But please, keep telling yourself that it’s one “broad” who disagrees with you.