Reply to Does FCPS have any requirements for instructors regarding posting grades in timely fashion

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]This is a long-standing problem in FCPS with terrible consequences for students. But most teachers, particularly those who post here, will be incredibly defensive about it. They, quite frankly, do not seem to think that grading is important enough to prioritize over other tasks. And administrators must agree because there is never any change.

I'd lodge concerns, in writing, to the counselor and principle, but do not expect any change.  [/quote]

Which task should we drop so we can grade? Should I drop planning lessons? That means I won’t be ready when your child shows up in my classroom on Monday. Should I drop logging and analyzing student data? That means I’ll have no idea how well your child is doing over them. Maybe I should drop parking lot duty and cafeteria duty, even though my contract dictates that I am responsible for fulfilling them. Maybe I should drop answering the tsunami of parent and student emails I get each day, or I should refuse to go to IEP meetings.

I get less than an hour of work time each day. I usually have over 5 hours of work to do. There’s the math and that’s the reason grading takes a while.

If you want more timely feedback, then join teachers in the fight for more reasonable workloads. I’ve worked 6 hours already today, on a Saturday. I’m nowhere near done.

The teachers here who refuse to work on weekends have the right idea. They are forcing an appropriate work/life balance while I’ll burn out and quit.[/quote]

Proving the OPs point. Sorry your job sucks. But that doesn’t change the fact that grading isn’t happening and childrens education is suffering because of it. [/quote]

If teachers’ jobs suck, if teachers are suffering, then “children’s education suffering” does seem a likely outcome.  Do you expect teachers to suffer even more for the “sake of the kids?”  Oh no no.  This is a job, my friend.  Those of us who have been beaten down by the likes of you and yours have no incentive to try and martyr ourselves for ungrateful folks who *expect* us to do sacrifice our own personal lives as a matter of course.  [/quote]

+1, I’m not working more hours than I already am for “the sake of the kids.”  [b]If they are suffering that is the parents problem. I’m working 50 hours a week and that’s my limit. No it’s in the parents to find the solution or pressure FCPS to find one[/b].[/quote]

So you aren't grading work, knowing it adversely affects children, in an effort to pressure admin to do something? You are using the kids to further your efforts to enact change. How did you feel about the asylum seekers being shipped to Martha's Vineyard?[/quote]

They aren’t going to give hours and hours (yes, it takes that long) of their unpaid personal time to grade “for the chiiiiiiildrrreeeeen.” Deal with it.[/quote]

Teacher here. This is the answer right here. I spent years working all day every day. I missed my own children’s performances, meets, and games. I delayed doctor appointments. I missed dinners with extended family. I even cancelled a family trip once. I lost ten years because I prioritized my job over my life.

I’m not doing it anymore. The choice is between demanding a work/life balance and quitting. Papers will be returned eventually. [/quote]

Why not choose to not do other parts of your job, ones that don't affect the kids? Refuse the stupid admin meeting. Refuse lunch or drop off duty. Yes, that's more difficult to refuse those, but they will be more effective in getting your point across because admin will be directly impacted. Right now, the kids suffer and admin doesn't care so nothing will change and kids continue to be hurt. [/quote]

That’s the problem: ALL aspects of my job affect the kids. Planning takes most of my time. If I don’t plan, your child doesn’t get an engaging, meaningful lesson. The meetings are almost always about benchmarks and data, so if I don’t go I am not giving proper attention to student progress.

Lunch duty is written into my contract. If I don’t go, all that will happen is I will get written up. I care about my job, so being defiant isn’t going to work for me.

There’s nothing to give up. The only thing that doesn’t have a rigid due date is my grading, so it is last priority. It has to be. I’m already working instead of eating my lunch. I’m already working instead of taking a much-needed break. (I don’t get 10 minutes at a water cooler to just chat with colleagues.) I work as I wait for meetings to start. I use my time very effectively and still can’t get my job done in the 55 hours I allow each week. I got it done when I was working 70, but that’s not happening anymore.

If there were a solution, I would have already thought of it. I’m very good at what I do. The truth is teachers are too overburdened. We need to be responsible for fewer classes during the day so we have more time. Period. [/quote]

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