Reply to Emotional needs of our students

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I am a teacher and I have been trying to figure this out this year.  Something has changed.  I've been in teaching for ten years and I've noticed the change on several levels.  They are stressed out.  Part of that stress comes from a fundamental lie they are being told:  they won't be successful if they don't get into the top school.  I pointed out that they could go to NOVA, save money, be in smaller classes, and  then go on to the four-year schools and they'd have the same degree - and they were shocked! They are over scheduled, which leads me to another point:  as a whole, they are not better students as the kids ten years ago.  Of course I have very good students that are the exceptions, but most of the students in my honors level class procrastinate, make excuses, etc...There were always some students like this, but they understood that they didn't earn an A, and there was no argument.  Now, they try to pressure you into grades they didn't earn, and when that doesn't work, they get their parents involved with pleas that usually involve getting in to colleges.
Where does that pressure come from?  Probably society, but I think it is a parent's job to let them know that they love them unconditionally and help their kid overcome that pressure - not add to it.  I had a kid tell me at the beginning of the year that he must earn A's because when he didn't get into TJ, his father didn't speak to him for a month.[/quote]

Go to the other forum on AAP and look at the postings by the insane parents trying to game the system.   You will see where the stress comes from.  How can colvin run have 3 AAP classes out of 5 ?   The school system needs to stop the grade inflation for AP and Honors Classes.  The school system needs to limit the AAP program to a MUCH smaller number.    Those 2 actions will reduce the stress and help the MAJORITY of kids.[/quote]

Are you serious about getting rid of weighted grades for AP and honors classes?  Do you really think that a child who gets all As in regular classes should have the same GPA as a child who gets all As in honors and AP classes?  GPAs should reflect the dlifficulty of the classes.  While this will adversely impact my child because I don't think kids should take too many AP classes, I think it's a fair system.  If my child chooses to take all regular classes,  I have no expectation that she would be ranked the same as kids who take on more difficult classes.   Next we'll have people suggesting that colleges should only get GPAs and not be able to look at which school a child went to because that would be more fair.   While it's important to reduce the pressure kids face in school, we have to do it in a way that doesn't do so at the expense of common sense.  [/quote]

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