Reply to New Parent In GDS 9th: The Lack of Transparency Alarms Me

Forum Index » Private & Independent Schools

Reply to "New Parent In GDS 9th: The Lack of Transparency Alarms Me"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous]Welcome to GDS--we love the school, but agree there will be an adjustment for your child and you if you have a new 9th grader. GDS, like many high schools, report the grades to the students, not the parents, so students can take primary responsibility for their academic performance.  It takes a bit of getting used to having to ask your child how they are doing, but in the long run it's great as your child gets older that they take on the role of managing their academics without you (college comes up way faster than you think).  They do of course give parents mid-semester updates, semesterly and annual report cards, and have parent teacher conferences coming up.

At the beginning of 9th, the teachers are trying to encourage students to focus on the learning, not just the grades, which is an adjustment for kids who just applied in from 8th who have focused on grades throughout MS. The work is going to be harder than what they are used too--a kid who got straight A's in Middle probably won't do that in 9th.

Reading between the lines, I suspect your kid's teachers might be trying to get them to take more responsibility for their work versus actually requiring "self-teaching". For reading/writing classes like English and History, teachers are going to push them to take a bigger role in considering their argument/thesis/content, editing their work, evolving their writing style (maybe more concise, more direct, more opinionated, etc). They are totally willing to meet and speak with students, but do expect that students also make an effort to improve on their end too.

At parent teacher conferences, I would suggest you discuss the feedback your child has reported to you to better understand what's going on.

And if your child is really distressed over this now, definitely reach out to the advisor and/or teacher for advice.  They want students to take more responsibility, but also feel supported so if your child is having a really hard time, it's fine for you to speak with the advisor or teacher now. The transition to HS is an adjustment for everyone. Hang in there. I promise it will get better![/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics