Anonymous wrote:The most immoral but affective way to coerce teachers is to get admin to get teachers to make parents happy or chop chop with their job job.

Ah yes, that would absolutely be affective -- most certainly arising from and influencing all sorts of moods, few of them positive, in everyone involved. Whether if would be effective is another matter entirely . . .

The most immoral but affective way to coerce teachers is to get admin to get teachers to make parents happy or chop chop with their job job.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fair is not totally subjective, there are ways to comparatively analyze a teacher’s grading formula to determine if they are equitably applying the same methodology to each student’s body of work. It is disappointing that as a teacher you don’t know that, which is why your grades should be challenged.

Ah, the typical DCUM assumptions. OF COURSE that’s true, but that’s not the point of my post. But you were able to insult a teacher on this site, which is a sport to some. Good dig.

And that wasn’t the point of my anecdote. (You knew that, of course.) I was accused of being “unfair” simply because the student’s average was lower than his averages in other classes. That’s all. The parents didn’t question the rubrics I use or the comments I leave to justify the scores. They didn’t ask to see quantitative data from class tests. Nope. I was “unfair” simply because their child is an A student and the grade was lower than an A. That’s it. That’s all it took to spark accusations and demand a grade change, which got escalated with no support other than “it must be an A.”

So was that fair? If you are the poster above who says you always side with “fair,” are you planning to support me?

Yes I would support you based on the additional details you have provided AND the tone (which is way more respectful than your previous reply) in which you are presenting it. I receive it and I see you now, so we can wave the white flag and move on.

We are all human beings who make mistakes, all of these scenarios are not one size fit all. It makes me uncomfortable to read a teacher write that a parent should not call, email and otherwise contact the school if they need clarity on something. Who else are we going to reach out to clear it up? I know the difficult (which is relative) parents exist, I see them, I hear an earful about the fallouts with their kids. But this is the territory that you all have chosen to enter into, and handling all of this comes with that territory.

"And handling all of this comes with the territory"? Sounds pretty arrogant and entitled.

How about empowering your child to step up, self-advocate, and have a conversation with the teacher? Afford the teacher the opportunity to flesh out the grade calculations.

As for notions of "fairness," you might want to let that go. Semester grades are based upon a body of work; averages reflect multiple assignments--at least they did for my children. Claims of "unfairness" are facile at best, embarrassing at worst. If your child seeks a letter of recommendation from this teacher, do you really want them to write, "This student was a delight to have in class. When the chips were down, she set up conferences to bargain for points and her parents lodged shrill claims of unfairness"? Your children's teachers live on five-figure salaries. They practice their craft because of a professional love for children. Do you really think they're out to flex what little power they have? My goodness!

I have full faith in my children's teachers. I have yet to encounter a single one who did not go out their way to advocate on behalf of them. Were they all perfect? No. Did some make mistakes? Yes. But their professional hearts were always pure and their investment in my children was always evident.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fair is not totally subjective, there are ways to comparatively analyze a teacher’s grading formula to determine if they are equitably applying the same methodology to each student’s body of work. It is disappointing that as a teacher you don’t know that, which is why your grades should be challenged.

Ah, the typical DCUM assumptions. OF COURSE that’s true, but that’s not the point of my post. But you were able to insult a teacher on this site, which is a sport to some. Good dig.

And that wasn’t the point of my anecdote. (You knew that, of course.) I was accused of being “unfair” simply because the student’s average was lower than his averages in other classes. That’s all. The parents didn’t question the rubrics I use or the comments I leave to justify the scores. They didn’t ask to see quantitative data from class tests. Nope. I was “unfair” simply because their child is an A student and the grade was lower than an A. That’s it. That’s all it took to spark accusations and demand a grade change, which got escalated with no support other than “it must be an A.”

So was that fair? If you are the poster above who says you always side with “fair,” are you planning to support me?

Yes I would support you based on the additional details you have provided AND the tone (which is way more respectful than your previous reply) in which you are presenting it. I receive it and I see you now, so we can wave the white flag and move on.

We are all human beings who make mistakes, all of these scenarios are not one size fit all. It makes me uncomfortable to read a teacher write that a parent should not call, email and otherwise contact the school if they need clarity on something. Who else are we going to reach out to clear it up? I know the difficult (which is relative) parents exist, I see them, I hear an earful about the fallouts with their kids. But this is the territory that you all have chosen to enter into, and handling all of this comes with that territory.

Are you one of those people who just likes hearing themself talk?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fair is not totally subjective, there are ways to comparatively analyze a teacher’s grading formula to determine if they are equitably applying the same methodology to each student’s body of work. It is disappointing that as a teacher you don’t know that, which is why your grades should be challenged.

Ah, the typical DCUM assumptions. OF COURSE that’s true, but that’s not the point of my post. But you were able to insult a teacher on this site, which is a sport to some. Good dig.

And that wasn’t the point of my anecdote. (You knew that, of course.) I was accused of being “unfair” simply because the student’s average was lower than his averages in other classes. That’s all. The parents didn’t question the rubrics I use or the comments I leave to justify the scores. They didn’t ask to see quantitative data from class tests. Nope. I was “unfair” simply because their child is an A student and the grade was lower than an A. That’s it. That’s all it took to spark accusations and demand a grade change, which got escalated with no support other than “it must be an A.”

So was that fair? If you are the poster above who says you always side with “fair,” are you planning to support me?

Yes I would support you based on the additional details you have provided AND the tone (which is way more respectful than your previous reply) in which you are presenting it. I receive it and I see you now, so we can wave the white flag and move on.

We are all human beings who make mistakes, all of these scenarios are not one size fit all. It makes me uncomfortable to read a teacher write that a parent should not call, email and otherwise contact the school if they need clarity on something. Who else are we going to reach out to clear it up? I know the difficult (which is relative) parents exist, I see them, I hear an earful about the fallouts with their kids. But this is the territory that you all have chosen to enter into, and handling all of this comes with that territory.