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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]When would they have time to provide feedback? 120+ students and one planning period per day. They have to prioritize planning so grading is done on their own time. They are required to use the rubric so that's what they use.[/quote]

Well, they have to read the essay. They could add a sentence of feedback. It's really not asking that much. And to say you get 2.5/3 on this part of the rubric is not helpful - where did the student miss the mark? And when a student asks for feedback and is told no, the teacher is not performing his or her job at a basic level. [/quote]

Seriously. When I was in public school in the 90s, I always got feedback on my writing. My teachers had the same number of kids in their classes as MCPS teachers do.

We need to stop making excuses or acting like teachers are dealing with situations that have never ever happened before. [/quote]

I posted above. (I’m the teacher who transitioned to a private school.) I have nothing but respect for public school teachers. I’ve been there and I know how the job has changed since I started teaching in 2000. It’s easily 3-4 times harder now. Class sizes are up while planning time is down. Side duties and obligations are astronomically up. (And just because you see similar class sizes doesn’t mean much. Teachers now have MORE classes. An extra section means an extra 30 papers to grade.) Half of a teacher’s job is outside the classroom. You don’t see what they do, nor are you aware of how little time they have to do it.

There are teachers all over this region devoting full weekends to their jobs and still not catching up. You can say we are “making excuses”. No, we are just telling you how it is. 
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So what’s your solution? It’s absolutely clear MCPS isn’t producing students who are meeting standards for reading, writing, and math. [/quote]

No county, including MCPS, is going to do what it needs to do.

English classes in high school need to be capped at the low 20s. Teachers need to be given extra planning and fewer extra duties so they have time AT work to provide feedback. They shouldn’t be expected to do it every Sat/Sun, which is what happens to the current teachers with heavy grading loads.

Curricula should be rewritten to emphasize the writing process, including revision exercises. (Frankly, practicing teachers should write it. I’ve been very unimpressed by the curricula purchased by the counties. Plus, teachers know their students and communities more than some distant company does.)

Bring back paper and pen. Not everything should be online. Technology has its time and place, of course, but it is far too often a crutch. Let students learn how to work (and draft) without it.

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That’s great, but much of it is completely unrealistic, so really you’re telling us we need to just accept that our kids won’t learn to write without being taught at home and never ask the teachers to do anything different than what they’re doing now. [/quote]

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