Anonymous
04/14/2023 14:24
Subject: DD grade pulled down by a grade that was entered last day of the marking period!
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Gosh, OP, the meanypantspeople have come out of the woodwork today. I would be very upset about the situation you are describing, and would definitely follow up with the teacher to make this debacle into a learning experience.
When you get 50% for not doing much of anything on an assignment, there is definitely a disconnect when there is
a legitimate attempt to complete something and get a 50%.
Agree. I’m shocked how nasty and blasé responders have been. In our middle school you get an automatic 50 percent grade on anything you have NOT turned in. Anything actually turned in would presumably be above 50 percent. In all honesty it sounds like your daughter did everything right along the way in terms of talking to the teacher/requesting feedback/clarifying/rewriting before the due date, etc. I personally would not suck it up. If you don’t hear back from the teacher (which is also shocking), I’d escalate. It’s not about the B. Bs are fine. It’s about the impossible gauntlet this teacher has unnecessarily created. For all those defending teachers, do you not think grading and providing timely feedback on assigned work is not core to the job description and the entire idea of the educational process? I get that they have other responsibilities. This is one of the main, required things every teacher everywhere knows is an expected part of the job.
1) The teacher did grade it in a timely fashion and did provide feedback in a timely manner.
2) I'm not sure why OP is so gung ho on ginning up support on this board, when the only way she can actually receive clarification/support/more info is by speaking to a person of leadership at the school.
Anonymous
04/14/2023 14:17
Subject: DD grade pulled down by a grade that was entered last day of the marking period!
Anonymous wrote:Gosh, OP, the meanypantspeople have come out of the woodwork today. I would be very upset about the situation you are describing, and would definitely follow up with the teacher to make this debacle into a learning experience.
When you get 50% for not doing much of anything on an assignment, there is definitely a disconnect when there is
a legitimate attempt to complete something and get a 50%.
Agree. I’m shocked how nasty and blasé responders have been. In our middle school you get an automatic 50 percent grade on anything you have NOT turned in. Anything actually turned in would presumably be above 50 percent. In all honesty it sounds like your daughter did everything right along the way in terms of talking to the teacher/requesting feedback/clarifying/rewriting before the due date, etc. I personally would not suck it up. If you don’t hear back from the teacher (which is also shocking), I’d escalate. It’s not about the B. Bs are fine. It’s about the impossible gauntlet this teacher has unnecessarily created. For all those defending teachers, do you not think grading and providing timely feedback on assigned work is not core to the job description and the entire idea of the educational process? I get that they have other responsibilities. This is one of the main, required things every teacher everywhere knows is an expected part of the job.
Anonymous
04/14/2023 13:50
Subject: DD grade pulled down by a grade that was entered last day of the marking period!
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:This thread is evidence piece number 23432 why I feel for teachers. Imagine having to deal with parents like this, who deeply in their bones believe students should not have consequences for poor work.
Imagine being an adult at a job where your salary, raise, and bonus depend on a performance review. Imagine that your objectives are unclear and your requests for clarification are ignored. Imagine you get little feedback on your objectives and believe you are performing well.
Then imagine you get a mediocre or poor review based on missed objectives you thought you’d met and negative feedback you received for the first time in the written review. Imagine you have no recourse to contest the review and the impact of the low raise will compound over time as future raises are a % increase over your base salary.
The teacher wouldn’t have to deal with this parent if she graded the work in a timely manner and provided useful feedback. Whether or not re-grading revised work is allowed should be spelled out in a syllabus / class policies.
Imagine comparing a quarter grade in a class in middle school to a performance review that your salary, raise, and bonus depend on.
I supervise adults and I give clear objectives and regular feedback so there are no surprises at review time. Are my employees more important because they are adults?
Which is it? Is teaching just babysitting and therefore teachers can do the base minimum with no consequences? Or are teachers professionals who should be held to the same standards and expectations as other white collar professionals? My mom was a teacher for 35 years and I know a lot of teachers. Most of them are great - but some of them do a half-ass job knowing that they can’t or won’t be fired.
Anonymous
04/14/2023 13:47
Subject: DD grade pulled down by a grade that was entered last day of the marking period!
The teacher wanted her, your DD (or just more students) to get the grade so that the overall class grade distribution would come-in as the teacher wanted (or had been told to make happen)
Anonymous
04/14/2023 13:40
Subject: Re:DD grade pulled down by a grade that was entered last day of the marking period!
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:May be I should ask these questions in a forum where parents do care about their kid and kid's grade and can help with useful suggestions rather than try to establish they are somehow better parents for not caring about grades! There are already plenty of other disappointments that my DD deals with, grades shouldn't have to be one when she doesn't actually deserves it.
But she doesn’t actually deserve it. You do a lot of blaming of so-called lazy teachers and vague rubrics. This is a learning opprtunity for your child. Next time, she can ask questions about the rubric beforehand if she is unclear. A B is GOOD. It’s middle school.
Do you have any idea how many students your child’s teacher has and how much grading and entering do grades that they do? Let’s say 125 students over 5 classes. That big project your kid got a 50 on…do you think the teacher spent 1 minute grading it? 5 minutes? 10 minutes? I’d guess I spent at least 5 minutes per assignment per child when I used to teach. That’s 11 hours of grading for that one single assignment.
How much planning time per week does your child’s teacher get? Most likely, 5 hours. During that time, she also has to attend IEP meetings, weekly team meetings, read her email, work on assigned administrative tasks and data collection, take any required online trainings, answer colleague and parent emails, and OH..,PLAN HER LESSONS. So she’s already working a full extra 7 hour day over the weekend to grade this one single assignment. Multiply that across all the other assignments.
The teacher is overworked, not lazy. Your kid earned a B. Move on.
It is not the parent’s or student’s fault you lack adequate grading time. You designed the project and assigned it. You could have broken in up into increments or designed it in a way that makes it faster to grade.
Anonymous
04/14/2023 13:18
Subject: Re:DD grade pulled down by a grade that was entered last day of the marking period!
OP I think some of the bad teachers are posting. You need to send anther email this time cc’ing the AP and principal. Don’t fall n your sword. Just facts, list how many assignments were left ungraded up until the last week. List the original submission date, when feedback was received, when it was resubmitted and dates f the multiple follow up with no response. If you still hear nothing forward the email to the superintendent cc’ing the principal.
You will get action.
I do feel for the teachers. They are angry at the central office for increased data demands. They don’t want to stand up to the central office so they take it out n the students. For every student who has a parent that stands up to them, there are ten more that don’t bother. Why bother grading n a timely manner if you only have to respond to 1 in 10.
You will get action.
I do feel for the teachers. They are angry at the central office for increased data demands. They don’t want to stand up to the central office so they take it out n the students. For every student who has a parent that stands up to them, there are ten more that don’t bother. Why bother grading n a timely manner if you only have to respond to 1 in 10.
Anonymous
04/14/2023 13:12
Subject: DD grade pulled down by a grade that was entered last day of the marking period!
Gosh, OP, the meanypantspeople have come out of the woodwork today. I would be very upset about the situation you are describing, and would definitely follow up with the teacher to make this debacle into a learning experience.
When you get 50% for not doing much of anything on an assignment, there is definitely a disconnect when there is
a legitimate attempt to complete something and get a 50%.
When you get 50% for not doing much of anything on an assignment, there is definitely a disconnect when there is
a legitimate attempt to complete something and get a 50%.
Anonymous
04/14/2023 13:04
Subject: DD grade pulled down by a grade that was entered last day of the marking period!
Something has to be pretty bad to earn a 50. If you think there's some misunderstanding, address that.
Anonymous
04/14/2023 13:01
Subject: Re:DD grade pulled down by a grade that was entered last day of the marking period!
Anonymous wrote:Just like you expect the kid to be held accountable if they are not performing , shouldn't teachers be held responsible if they are not doing their job correctly? Does the teacher plan for inserting these 'teachable moments' by inserting unfair grades so kids can learn how to 'suck it up' and learn to handle disappointment?
Held responsible by whom? It would certainly be an option for the OP to contact the department head and the principal to complain about the teacher. Is that what what you think the OP should do?
Anonymous
04/14/2023 12:59
Subject: Re:DD grade pulled down by a grade that was entered last day of the marking period!
Just like you expect the kid to be held accountable if they are not performing , shouldn't teachers be held responsible if they are not doing their job correctly? Does the teacher plan for inserting these 'teachable moments' by inserting unfair grades so kids can learn how to 'suck it up' and learn to handle disappointment?
Anonymous
04/14/2023 12:50
Subject: DD grade pulled down by a grade that was entered last day of the marking period!
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:This thread is evidence piece number 23432 why I feel for teachers. Imagine having to deal with parents like this, who deeply in their bones believe students should not have consequences for poor work.
Imagine being an adult at a job where your salary, raise, and bonus depend on a performance review. Imagine that your objectives are unclear and your requests for clarification are ignored. Imagine you get little feedback on your objectives and believe you are performing well.
Then imagine you get a mediocre or poor review based on missed objectives you thought you’d met and negative feedback you received for the first time in the written review. Imagine you have no recourse to contest the review and the impact of the low raise will compound over time as future raises are a % increase over your base salary.
The teacher wouldn’t have to deal with this parent if she graded the work in a timely manner and provided useful feedback. Whether or not re-grading revised work is allowed should be spelled out in a syllabus / class policies.
Imagine comparing a quarter grade in a class in middle school to a performance review that your salary, raise, and bonus depend on.
Anonymous
04/14/2023 12:34
Subject: DD grade pulled down by a grade that was entered last day of the marking period!
Anonymous wrote:This thread is evidence piece number 23432 why I feel for teachers. Imagine having to deal with parents like this, who deeply in their bones believe students should not have consequences for poor work.
Imagine being an adult at a job where your salary, raise, and bonus depend on a performance review. Imagine that your objectives are unclear and your requests for clarification are ignored. Imagine you get little feedback on your objectives and believe you are performing well.
Then imagine you get a mediocre or poor review based on missed objectives you thought you’d met and negative feedback you received for the first time in the written review. Imagine you have no recourse to contest the review and the impact of the low raise will compound over time as future raises are a % increase over your base salary.
The teacher wouldn’t have to deal with this parent if she graded the work in a timely manner and provided useful feedback. Whether or not re-grading revised work is allowed should be spelled out in a syllabus / class policies.
Anonymous
04/14/2023 12:33
Subject: Re:DD grade pulled down by a grade that was entered last day of the marking period!
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:May be I should ask these questions in a forum where parents do care about their kid and kid's grade and can help with useful suggestions rather than try to establish they are somehow better parents for not caring about grades! There are already plenty of other disappointments that my DD deals with, grades shouldn't have to be one when she doesn't actually deserves it.
But she doesn’t actually deserve it. You do a lot of blaming of so-called lazy teachers and vague rubrics. This is a learning opprtunity for your child. Next time, she can ask questions about the rubric beforehand if she is unclear. A B is GOOD. It’s middle school.
Do you have any idea how many students your child’s teacher has and how much grading and entering do grades that they do? Let’s say 125 students over 5 classes. That big project your kid got a 50 on…do you think the teacher spent 1 minute grading it? 5 minutes? 10 minutes? I’d guess I spent at least 5 minutes per assignment per child when I used to teach. That’s 11 hours of grading for that one single assignment.
How much planning time per week does your child’s teacher get? Most likely, 5 hours. During that time, she also has to attend IEP meetings, weekly team meetings, read her email, work on assigned administrative tasks and data collection, take any required online trainings, answer colleague and parent emails, and OH..,PLAN HER LESSONS. So she’s already working a full extra 7 hour day over the weekend to grade this one single assignment. Multiply that across all the other assignments.
The teacher is overworked, not lazy. Your kid earned a B. Move on.
How do you know her kid doesn't deserve it? If a kid gets a fifty on something, the teacher needs to be prepared to explain why so the student can improve.
Anonymous
04/14/2023 12:31
Subject: Re:DD grade pulled down by a grade that was entered last day of the marking period!
Anonymous wrote:May be I should ask these questions in a forum where parents do care about their kid and kid's grade and can help with useful suggestions rather than try to establish they are somehow better parents for not caring about grades! There are already plenty of other disappointments that my DD deals with, grades shouldn't have to be one when she doesn't actually deserves it.
But she doesn’t actually deserve it. You do a lot of blaming of so-called lazy teachers and vague rubrics. This is a learning opprtunity for your child. Next time, she can ask questions about the rubric beforehand if she is unclear. A B is GOOD. It’s middle school.
Do you have any idea how many students your child’s teacher has and how much grading and entering do grades that they do? Let’s say 125 students over 5 classes. That big project your kid got a 50 on…do you think the teacher spent 1 minute grading it? 5 minutes? 10 minutes? I’d guess I spent at least 5 minutes per assignment per child when I used to teach. That’s 11 hours of grading for that one single assignment.
How much planning time per week does your child’s teacher get? Most likely, 5 hours. During that time, she also has to attend IEP meetings, weekly team meetings, read her email, work on assigned administrative tasks and data collection, take any required online trainings, answer colleague and parent emails, and OH..,PLAN HER LESSONS. So she’s already working a full extra 7 hour day over the weekend to grade this one single assignment. Multiply that across all the other assignments.
The teacher is overworked, not lazy. Your kid earned a B. Move on.
Anonymous
04/14/2023 12:30
Subject: Re:DD grade pulled down by a grade that was entered last day of the marking period!
Anonymous wrote:This is not my first experience with MCPS middle school and its teachers! I have an older kid who went through middle school in a lot tougher environment (clemente magnet) and is now in high school magnet. So I am not unfamiliar with good/poor work . My now magnet high schooler has gotten some Bs and she did deserve them as well. And I do not meddle with their work/grades unless I think something was really unfair. I often side with the teachers when my kids complain against any teacher. My sister is a teacher and I know all the difficulties... so don't think I am here to just bash all teachers!
This particular project from my youngest was a group project and she collaborated with a kid from another period (same teacher though). The teacher had not given same instructions to the 2 classes which I guess they should have clarified. Yes the teacher allowed re-work because lot of kids complained the instructions weren't clear (he assigned the project and was absent from school for over a week), but then did not grade the re-work. Apparently a lot of kids ended up with Cs and Ds on this one project!
I am just surprised why the teacher doesn't want to reply to email asking for feedback about what she should have done better? To me it looked like the project was on point.
Most of you say 'yeah may be she deserved it' , why don't you help her do better? But if there is no feedback on what is that she should have done better, how can some one improve? All the teachers I have had for my kids have been nice and I have never had one that doesn't respond to emails!
How confident are you that your kid did a good job? I would escalate it first with the teacher and then magnet counselor/coordinatior + principal. The issue in my opinion is not the quality of work but rather the lack of clarity about the ruberic and the fact that the teacher did all the grading at the last minute. Anyways, I would make sure that the teacher is not messing up the kids due to own laziness. Squeaky wheel gets the grease in MCPS. Yes, be that parent. Because if you do not advocate for your kid, no one else will.