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][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]
Here's your issue: [b]"The meetings are almost always about benchmarks and data, so if I don’t go I am not giving proper attention to student progress."[/b]
This relentless measuring/testing focus on SOLs and all the other junk tests is a colossal waste of both teacher and student time, and as a parent I frankly want teachers to just teach instead of spending lots of time with this. If you compare now to a generation ago, this is the main time sink that creeped into classrooms, especially when combined with technological tool nonsense that gives minimal added value.

So you don't need anymore data than what you already get when you grade assignments, as that tells you who is and isn't doing well. Additionally, after your first year and assuming you're reteaching the same grade or class, lesson planning should mainly be reusing what worked well last year. [/quote]

You need to realize who is in a power position and who is not.  The people who evaluate me and renew my contract have the ability to make my life very difficult.  Teachers “standing up to administrators” doesn’t always work the way you think it does.  [/quote]
I understand this of course, you are risking getting fired. Yet anyway many, many teachers are already thinking of leaving the profession because they are no longer left alone to teach, which was the original reason they got into teaching to pursue their interest and passion! In that case, it's better to do what you believe is right and take that risk if it means a chance to change things, i.e change the current culture of disrespect toward teachers in this country. If you have to fight and get parents on your side, and if ultimately it does unfortunately result in being forced to leave, so be it. This is what I would do, certainly if I was a young teacher, frustrated with the lack of support, sometimes even inhumane treatment depending on the school, and usually low pay. The situation is already demoralizingly bad, why not leave without fighting for something good if it has to come to that?

Personally, as a parent and teacher, I think it would be very easy to change this culture (certainly at some schools where there is a lot of parent involvement). The main issue right now are:

1) Many teachers who started a long time ago when things were better now have families and are simply scared to lose their job (and for good reason!)

2) Many young, energetic, passionate teachers who would have stood up to the system wisely decided it's best to leave the profession early while they still have choices rather than choose to fight for the profession.

3) Many parents are sadly clueless to what is really going on in our schools, for various reasons: Some don't care about learning and uninvolved in their children's education, some are entitled a$$holes to all people, others are plain ignorant/gullible and believe all the corporate admin doublespeak lingo that even teachers are forced to say (for instance even at recent back to school nights  :( ), and others know/feel that their children are barely learning much in 7 hrs but are too jaded to conceive of a less broken system so they accept it.

Admins meanwhile have the power and money to sell out the teaching profession to consultants and technology companies, i.e corporations who only care about profit, in this case significant amounts of money that could have been used on teachers . If you don't believe this, just try looking at how much time is spent talking about tools and software, more than teachers themselves. Teachers are already considered secondary to technology in the classrooms, and THAT is very scary and telling at the same time. Effectively, teachers cannot stand up for their profession. But if a significant number of parents band together and complain AND teachers are on their side, i.e agree with them on issues, the admins have very little choice; they have to listen. [/quote]

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