Let’s update gradebook

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s less about not putting the grades into SIS than not grading the work at all. When teachers don’t grade and return assignments, how are kids supposed to learn and do better the next time?

This is my main concern. I know how overworked teachers are (I teach ES). Actually, I can't even imagine MS teachers that have to grade assignments from 4-5 sections of 25+ students each. BUT, I do think my kid needs more than a grade in a computer system, particularly for non-math subjects. In all of 7th grade and so far in 8th my kid has not receive a single word of feedback on any writing assignment, be it for History, Science, or English. Only the number/letter grade and sometimes circled items on a rubric. No redline markups, not even form comments like "needs more evidence, watch your grammar, source?", etc. Even for assignments that hit the mark, some positive words would go a long way to boost confidence and enthusiasm for the topics.

I don't know what the answer is, because truly a dedicated MS teacher is already doing more (unpaid!) overtime than we can probably imagine. But I do know that this inadequate level of feedback is a disservice to my kid who could be using that feedback to improve.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s less about not putting the grades into SIS than not grading the work at all. When teachers don’t grade and return assignments, how are kids supposed to learn and do better the next time?

This is my main concern. I know how overworked teachers are (I teach ES). Actually, I can't even imagine MS teachers that have to grade assignments from 4-5 sections of 25+ students each. BUT, I do think my kid needs more than a grade in a computer system, particularly for non-math subjects. In all of 7th grade and so far in 8th my kid has not receive a single word of feedback on any writing assignment, be it for History, Science, or English. Only the number/letter grade and sometimes circled items on a rubric. No redline markups, not even form comments like "needs more evidence, watch your grammar, source?", etc. Even for assignments that hit the mark, some positive words would go a long way to boost confidence and enthusiasm for the topics.

I don't know what the answer is, because truly a dedicated MS teacher is already doing more (unpaid!) overtime than we can probably imagine. But I do know that this inadequate level of feedback is a disservice to my kid who could be using that feedback to improve.

+1 this exactly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s less about not putting the grades into SIS than not grading the work at all. When teachers don’t grade and return assignments, how are kids supposed to learn and do better the next time?

This is my main concern. I know how overworked teachers are (I teach ES). Actually, I can't even imagine MS teachers that have to grade assignments from 4-5 sections of 25+ students each. BUT, I do think my kid needs more than a grade in a computer system, particularly for non-math subjects. In all of 7th grade and so far in 8th my kid has not receive a single word of feedback on any writing assignment, be it for History, Science, or English. Only the number/letter grade and sometimes circled items on a rubric. No redline markups, not even form comments like "needs more evidence, watch your grammar, source?", etc. Even for assignments that hit the mark, some positive words would go a long way to boost confidence and enthusiasm for the topics.

I don't know what the answer is, because truly a dedicated MS teacher is already doing more (unpaid!) overtime than we can probably imagine. But I do know that this inadequate level of feedback is a disservice to my kid who could be using that feedback to improve.

Yes, it is a disservice. It absolutely is. Is the solution 15 hours of middle school and high school grading each weekend? That’s how comments on papers happen. That’s what I’ll be doing again this weekend. That’s what I did for 3 hours last night.

I have to sacrifice my own family for those comments. I grade before dinner. I grade after dinner. I grade at my kids’ sporting events. I grade in the car if someone else is driving. I miss family events. I missed a family outing to PA last weekend so I could stay home and work.

Is this acceptable to you? I hear that kids need comments. What I don’t hear is an acknowledgment that those comments take major sacrifice.

[Anonymous]

Fellow teacher here. Please, please consider establishing firm boundaries and only work contract hours or a bit more. If you can't grade in that time, sit and have an honest conversation with your administrator The problem is, when teachers surrender their weekends to grading, admin continues to pile on the meetings because everything is getting done. I am a good teacher if I say so myself. Twenty years, I still love the kids and I think most of them (and their parents) are happy with me. I actively practice burnout protection so I don't end up quitting. In fairness, I don't teach English which requires a lot of time for grading. As a CT talk to your admin. Tell them you're burnt out and need more grading time. Remember: they need you. People aren't exactly banging down doors to apply for teaching jobs.

[Anonymous]

“Let’s?” Who are you again?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's your job. Do it.

You’re not their boss. Cope.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s less about not putting the grades into SIS than not grading the work at all. When teachers don’t grade and return assignments, how are kids supposed to learn and do better the next time?

Sounds like the district needs to give them more planning time to do it.

YES, please! I don’t even have after school planning time twice a week as one day is school meetings (department, faculty, etc) and one day is required free tutoring. Even just saying no commitments after the last bell rings would be a major improvement.[/quote



I seen TikTok post about teachers only working contract hours, Every Time I see a teacher posting that I asked them to quit

“I seen?” And no one cares if you “asked them to quit.” You have no power.

Oh, and stop wasting your time on TikTok. You’re not 12.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many teachers at my school have second jobs to pay the bills so they aren't staying after school to update the grade book. It gets done when it gets done.

You can do it over the weekend, or when you get home from your 2nd job

No.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To the PP who said her husband doesn’t work at home - I hope you realize that most white collar employees work from home “after hours.” We work until the job is done, not when the clock says a certain time. Teachers who assign work but don’t give kids timely feedback aren’t doing their job.

Yawn. You don’t set the requirements for “their job.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's your job. Do it.

It’s your job to send a healthy, well cared-for, non-sociopath student to school but half of y’all ain’t done that lately. The grade book can wait.

+1000

Keeping your kid’s smart phone at home would also help.

And taking it away from them at night so they actually do their work, study and sleep, but we all know that will never happen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's your job. Do it.

It’s your job to send a healthy, well cared-for, non-sociopath student to school but half of y’all ain’t done that lately. The grade book can wait.

Mine is healthy, well-cared for and the teachers generally like DC. Yet, some can't offer any sort of timely grade or helpful feedback.

News flash: your kid isn’t the only one in the class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s less about not putting the grades into SIS than not grading the work at all. When teachers don’t grade and return assignments, how are kids supposed to learn and do better the next time?

This is my main concern. I know how overworked teachers are (I teach ES). Actually, I can't even imagine MS teachers that have to grade assignments from 4-5 sections of 25+ students each. BUT, I do think my kid needs more than a grade in a computer system, particularly for non-math subjects. In all of 7th grade and so far in 8th my kid has not receive a single word of feedback on any writing assignment, be it for History, Science, or English. Only the number/letter grade and sometimes circled items on a rubric. No redline markups, not even form comments like "needs more evidence, watch your grammar, source?", etc. Even for assignments that hit the mark, some positive words would go a long way to boost confidence and enthusiasm for the topics.

I don't know what the answer is, because truly a dedicated MS teacher is already doing more (unpaid!) overtime than we can probably imagine. But I do know that this inadequate level of feedback is a disservice to my kid who could be using that feedback to improve.

Honestly, I don’t remember getting feedback from my history or science teachers. I just got a grade on a test. Comments weren’t necessarily always given in English either. They usually commented on our drafts but not our final product of written work. But mostly, we just got a grade for each assignment.

[Anonymous]

I would honestly settle for decent teaching. YouTube videos and TeachersPayTeachers, is not it. Tests are a joke. DD has a 99.5 for the year, and has learned nothing. Worse, she hates a subject she used to love.

The grades are posted very promptly. There is that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s less about not putting the grades into SIS than not grading the work at all. When teachers don’t grade and return assignments, how are kids supposed to learn and do better the next time?

This is my main concern. I know how overworked teachers are (I teach ES). Actually, I can't even imagine MS teachers that have to grade assignments from 4-5 sections of 25+ students each. BUT, I do think my kid needs more than a grade in a computer system, particularly for non-math subjects. In all of 7th grade and so far in 8th my kid has not receive a single word of feedback on any writing assignment, be it for History, Science, or English. Only the number/letter grade and sometimes circled items on a rubric. No redline markups, not even form comments like "needs more evidence, watch your grammar, source?", etc. Even for assignments that hit the mark, some positive words would go a long way to boost confidence and enthusiasm for the topics.

I don't know what the answer is, because truly a dedicated MS teacher is already doing more (unpaid!) overtime than we can probably imagine. But I do know that this inadequate level of feedback is a disservice to my kid who could be using that feedback to improve.

Honestly, I don’t remember getting feedback from my history or science teachers. I just got a grade on a test. Comments weren’t necessarily always given in English either. They usually commented on our drafts but not our final product of written work. But mostly, we just got a grade for each assignment.

Things not commented on, were redlined or circled so we at least knew where to look for mistakes. If it was unclear, you could ask them after school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Last time my DD teacher updated the grade book was December 9th….

Students have been doing assignments since then, semester end soon and nothing graded. I’m not telling you how to do your job, but you should update your grade book kids need to know if they are missing anything. Please

The horror. Imagine what it must have been like for our parents, who couldn't check on our day-to-day gradebook progress back in the day! How did they EVER survive their anxiety?

Stop. The bigger problem is that STUDENTS do not have feedback on their work. SIS happens to allow parents to see work, bc it is a web based system. In the old days, graded assignments were returned to students in a timely manner. You could see what you did wrong so you didn’t repeat the mistake going forward. Not so today. School policy complicates things more by making deadlines for student homework meaningless. So if Larlo turns in his homework late (if at all) it may not be in the batch that a teacher is currently grading. It is a friggin’ mess.

You had a very different experience than I did in high school. Most of my work was never returned, and when it was it just said "A" or "B" on it, there was no feedback.

Very different then. Marked up essays with RED pen with suggestions/notes/comments on the side. Weekly essays / stories through middle school and we also had to read them out loud. This was public school (went to private HS). Math graded with 1/2 points awarded if you missed one step but the rest was right. Today’s classrooms are not even comparable. Some things are better but a lot of useful skills (eg, how to take notes) have been replaced with something inferior (eg, gluing notes in a notebook). Even our notes were reviewed on occasion — this was 4th, 5th and 6th grade. AAP is a joke. It is what everyone was expected to do (eg, Latin/Greek roots). We learned to hand write in print, cursive … and calligraphy (thank you, Mrs. Zink our 3rd grade teacher).

Today teachers are called into too many meetings. There is not enough time in a day. It stinks for everyone.

Back then Mrs Zink wasn’t planning and managing Morning Meeting, phonics small groups, phonological awareness small groups, an intervention block, math stations, math groups, Writers’ Worskhop, writing conferences, word study, along with science and social studies. Mrs. Zink wasn’t trying to figure out which students need a follow-up DSA and/or PRF and find a time to do the assessments while also squeezing in the previously mentioned groups. Mrs. Zink wasn’t completing report cards that contain 1,000+ marks at the end of each quarter.

I mean, then you aren't adequately teaching them how to write. I had to step in and do it, finally, in MS when it was clear my honors student with straight A's couldn't identify parts of speech or string more than 2 sentences together. It's unacceptable.

I have taught parts of speech all year and some kids still don’t have it mastered. I have taught writing and some kids refuse to write in complete sentences. It isn’t always that it is not taught. Many students don’t apply it.

I believe you, but how long is spent on this? Are you able to do this throughout the year or is it a 1-2 week unit?

I spent all of quarter one and consistently have the kids practice. Honestly, I just think some kids don’t care.

+100, there a few kids in every class. They just don’t care.