Anonymous
Post 10/22/2023 08:48     Subject: Grading
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It is normal in MCPS, so is not answering email. Its very hit or miss per teacher.

In some cases, you should see the amount of petty parent emails that hit a teacher's inbox. A parent should really ask themselves if an email is necessary or whether they might, instead, find the answer or resolve a "problem" without running to the teacher for everything! Unless you are a teacher, you have no idea how many directions and demands are made on a daily basis (hence the rate of teachers leaving.) I wish parents would just back off sometimes.


If a parent is reaching out to help their child and you are unwilling to respond, you need to find a new profession. Not all kids will advocate for themselves especially depending on the teacher.


But, you have to understand that it is not one parent reaching out about one student. I teach over 100 kids. Sometimes we have to prioritize our time and sometimes we don't respond quickly enough. So many of the emails I get for parents are for non-issues or for things that the students could find in Canvas or things that I have told students or put in announcements. So, if I have to respond to all of those emails, I won't be able to plan the lessons for next week. So, what are kids going to do in class if I don't have a lesson plan for the day because I spend my planning time responding to all of the emails.

But I should leave my profession because I don't respond to your email. Thanks for the support. And what are you going to do when I leave, and they can't get a replacement or your child has a series of short-term subs. You think that will solve this issue. I can tell you that if things don't change, the education system is going to crumble.


I empathize with your situation, but it's not parents'/students' fault either. Admin is over-scheduling teachers, and Canvas is absolute garbage that is very hard to extract correct information from.

Anonymous
Post 10/22/2023 07:52     Subject: Grading
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It is normal in MCPS, so is not answering email. Its very hit or miss per teacher.

In some cases, you should see the amount of petty parent emails that hit a teacher's inbox. A parent should really ask themselves if an email is necessary or whether they might, instead, find the answer or resolve a "problem" without running to the teacher for everything! Unless you are a teacher, you have no idea how many directions and demands are made on a daily basis (hence the rate of teachers leaving.) I wish parents would just back off sometimes.


If a parent is reaching out to help their child and you are unwilling to respond, you need to find a new profession. Not all kids will advocate for themselves especially depending on the teacher.


But, you have to understand that it is not one parent reaching out about one student. I teach over 100 kids. Sometimes we have to prioritize our time and sometimes we don't respond quickly enough. So many of the emails I get for parents are for non-issues or for things that the students could find in Canvas or things that I have told students or put in announcements. So, if I have to respond to all of those emails, I won't be able to plan the lessons for next week. So, what are kids going to do in class if I don't have a lesson plan for the day because I spend my planning time responding to all of the emails.

But I should leave my profession because I don't respond to your email. Thanks for the support. And what are you going to do when I leave, and they can't get a replacement or your child has a series of short-term subs. You think that will solve this issue. I can tell you that if things don't change, the education system is going to crumble.
Anonymous
Post 10/21/2023 19:04     Subject: Grading
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It is normal in MCPS, so is not answering email. Its very hit or miss per teacher.

In some cases, you should see the amount of petty parent emails that hit a teacher's inbox. A parent should really ask themselves if an email is necessary or whether they might, instead, find the answer or resolve a "problem" without running to the teacher for everything! Unless you are a teacher, you have no idea how many directions and demands are made on a daily basis (hence the rate of teachers leaving.) I wish parents would just back off sometimes.


If a parent is reaching out to help their child and you are unwilling to respond, you need to find a new profession. Not all kids will advocate for themselves especially depending on the teacher.


The point is that by high school you need to start teaching kids to advocate for themselves. Are you planning on going to college with them? How about their first job?
Anonymous
Post 10/21/2023 15:19     Subject: Grading
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It is normal in MCPS, so is not answering email. Its very hit or miss per teacher.

In some cases, you should see the amount of petty parent emails that hit a teacher's inbox. A parent should really ask themselves if an email is necessary or whether they might, instead, find the answer or resolve a "problem" without running to the teacher for everything! Unless you are a teacher, you have no idea how many directions and demands are made on a daily basis (hence the rate of teachers leaving.) I wish parents would just back off sometimes.


If a parent is reaching out to help their child and you are unwilling to respond, you need to find a new profession. Not all kids will advocate for themselves especially depending on the teacher.
Anonymous
Post 10/21/2023 13:20     Subject: Grading
Anonymous wrote:When they nonrenew teachers for not working unlimited unpaid over time they lie to the department of labor and say that all the teachers resigned because I was told by mcea that teachers dont get unemployment. It was bs according to the unemployment office.

If you're salaried, you don't get overtime. If you resign, you don't get unemployment.
Anonymous
Post 10/21/2023 12:17     Subject: Grading
When they nonrenew teachers for not working unlimited unpaid over time they lie to the department of labor and say that all the teachers resigned because I was told by mcea that teachers dont get unemployment. It was bs according to the unemployment office.
Anonymous
Post 10/20/2023 21:14     Subject: Grading
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My school takes away my two planning periods a day. One is used for useless meetings to disseminate info that would more efficiently conveyed by email if they dared to put those directives in writing. The other is taken by covering classes because there aren’t subs. The expectation is that teachers will do this unpaid at home, but also complete recommendations, forms for IEPs or 504s, and plan for multiple preps. If a teacher falls behind in grading, it probably isn’t laziness. It’s probably triage.


This is why. There just isn't enough time in the day. 45 minutes a day is what teachers 'hopefully' have. In that 45 minutes, teachers have to: plan, set up Canvas/make copies, complete IEP/504 reports, grade, make phone calls to parents of students who are failing (this could end up taking all 45 minutes, it isn't just Hi, your kid is failing, bye), respond to emails/messages (check Canvas, Google, Outlook, Remind, Synergy)... The list goes on and on. I got an email from a parent - my kid has an A in class but didn't not get Consistently for their class participation. Why did you mark my kid late? (well he came to class late...) Every time I have to respond to an email like that it takes away from all of the things on my list.

OP - if you want it to change don't blame the teacher, blame MCPS and the system. Teachers have been supplementing the education system with all of the unpaid labor and unreimbursed supplies. We can't continue like this. Advocate for ensuring we have time in our day to not only plan the lessons but grade and provide feedback. Until we get that, assignments will go ungraded. And I will add that Synergy is horrible this year. I push the sync button in Canvas and wait and wait and wait and wait. Maybe grades will appear in Synergy, but maybe not. Since, I pushed the Sync button, I assume that the grades actually sync'd. It isn't until a kid asks why isn't it showing up, that I realize oh, they didn't actually sync. Join the thread to advocate for a new grading program. But again this is not the teachers fault. It just compounds the time spent on trying to get the grades in Synergy, which reduces the time we actually have to grade.


Best thing I’ve read on DCUM:
“Teachers have been supplementing the education system with all of the unpaid labor and unreimbursed supplies.” So true.

I’ll be grading most of the weekend. Again. Using supplies I purchased, including the paper I gave to the students.


If teachers were to adhere to their "duty day" the school system would be in a world of trouble. Education is a shared responsibility but in the last decade, educators have become the one-stop shop for all of the needs of all of the students. In addition to the laundry list of responsibilities shared ^ above, we are also asked to communicate with families in their home language, consider and respond to mental and behavioral health issues, address food insecurity, compensate for lack of background knowledge, etc. *****To the parents who show support and appreciation for nurturing your children, I am grateful.**** To the complainers, I wonder how they would receive the negativity if someone were allowed to go into their workplace - untrained and without knowledge of the demands and job - to judge, criticize, and lodge their complaints at every turn at every whim. More and more students are coming without the basics and schools are becoming more than the schoolhouse of ye olden days. Teaching content seems like a luxury when I am able to focus on that.
Anonymous
Post 10/20/2023 20:59     Subject: Grading
Anonymous wrote:The teachers that do this are lazy and disorganized. You can speak to the assistant principal about it if you want to talk to anyone who can kick their asses.

Or how about this? How about you have your child learn to talk to the teacher respectfully rather than assume the worst of the teacher? I don't think it's not okay to go weeks without a grade but the "lazy" and "disorganized" assertion and the suggestion that you run to the administration is just yuck. High schools have a resource teacher who supervises each department (English, math, science, etc.) and should be the next in the chain of command if you don't get a response from the teacher.
Anonymous
Post 10/20/2023 20:55     Subject: Grading
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:In high school, it should be up to the student to address issues with teachers. Parents should be secondary.

YES!!!!


I agree. Last year I regularly had to spend time replying to a parent/student duo. I would receive an email from each of them on the same day about the same subject, so I had to respond to both each time. I was so aggravated each time it happened.
Anonymous
Post 10/20/2023 20:52     Subject: Grading
Anonymous wrote:In high school, it should be up to the student to address issues with teachers. Parents should be secondary.

YES!!!!
Anonymous
Post 10/20/2023 20:51     Subject: Grading
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The teachers that do this are lazy and disorganized. You can speak to the assistant principal about it if you want to talk to anyone who can kick their asses.


Even though I agree they need a kick in the butt, I'd be concerned they'd take it out on my kid.

Anonymous
Post 10/20/2023 20:50     Subject: Grading
Anonymous wrote:Admin also try to get double overtime out of teachers without paying them. I remember I was pushed and worked 70-80 hrs per week grading and subbing nonstop. I was a good employee and did as I was told and wrote in 40 hrs per week on my time sheet. I was non renewed. Teachers in the US are simply not valued in the money making complex we call education.

+1
It is not sustainable. Admin, parents, and students all make demands. Plan, teach, grade, answer student emails, answer parent emails, deal with behaviors, report on progress for special education students, provide extra time for a test, reteach because of student absence, rework a lesson to cater to the needs of a student with a disability, give up lunch to meet with students, etc. Take care of your mental health, they say as they pile on another training, invent another monitoring tool, mandate participation on a committee, and participation in a professional learning community. INSANE! There are simply not enough hours in the day and at times, I have to tell myself, I am here to teach. I will work with the student and the rest must wait. No other profession that I am aware of is abused as much.
Anonymous
Post 10/20/2023 20:45     Subject: Grading
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My school takes away my two planning periods a day. One is used for useless meetings to disseminate info that would more efficiently conveyed by email if they dared to put those directives in writing. The other is taken by covering classes because there aren’t subs. The expectation is that teachers will do this unpaid at home, but also complete recommendations, forms for IEPs or 504s, and plan for multiple preps. If a teacher falls behind in grading, it probably isn’t laziness. It’s probably triage.


This is why. There just isn't enough time in the day. 45 minutes a day is what teachers 'hopefully' have. In that 45 minutes, teachers have to: plan, set up Canvas/make copies, complete IEP/504 reports, grade, make phone calls to parents of students who are failing (this could end up taking all 45 minutes, it isn't just Hi, your kid is failing, bye), respond to emails/messages (check Canvas, Google, Outlook, Remind, Synergy)... The list goes on and on. I got an email from a parent - my kid has an A in class but didn't not get Consistently for their class participation. Why did you mark my kid late? (well he came to class late...) Every time I have to respond to an email like that it takes away from all of the things on my list.

OP - if you want it to change don't blame the teacher, blame MCPS and the system. Teachers have been supplementing the education system with all of the unpaid labor and unreimbursed supplies. We can't continue like this. Advocate for ensuring we have time in our day to not only plan the lessons but grade and provide feedback. Until we get that, assignments will go ungraded. And I will add that Synergy is horrible this year. I push the sync button in Canvas and wait and wait and wait and wait. Maybe grades will appear in Synergy, but maybe not. Since, I pushed the Sync button, I assume that the grades actually sync'd. It isn't until a kid asks why isn't it showing up, that I realize oh, they didn't actually sync. Join the thread to advocate for a new grading program. But again this is not the teachers fault. It just compounds the time spent on trying to get the grades in Synergy, which reduces the time we actually have to grade.


Best thing I’ve read on DCUM:
“Teachers have been supplementing the education system with all of the unpaid labor and unreimbursed supplies.” So true.

I’ll be grading most of the weekend. Again. Using supplies I purchased, including the paper I gave to the students.
Anonymous
Post 10/20/2023 20:40     Subject: Grading
Anonymous wrote:It is normal in MCPS, so is not answering email. Its very hit or miss per teacher.

In some cases, you should see the amount of petty parent emails that hit a teacher's inbox. A parent should really ask themselves if an email is necessary or whether they might, instead, find the answer or resolve a "problem" without running to the teacher for everything! Unless you are a teacher, you have no idea how many directions and demands are made on a daily basis (hence the rate of teachers leaving.) I wish parents would just back off sometimes.
Anonymous
Post 10/20/2023 20:37     Subject: Grading
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Not normal but not uncommon unfortunately. Sadly they made them all watch dumb videos about freedom today and such rather than getting caught up on grading.
Sometimes if your kid checks canvass some of the grades will show there.


Agreed

I don’t understand why it happens tho. My kid has also been in situations where they are taking the next test and don’t know the grade of the previous test

Teachers also do not hand back the tests and don’t review the test so the kid doesn’t know what they did wrong and how to correct in the future. It sucks!


^tests are really meant to gauge student understanding of the material, so not having feedback is a problem that should be brought to the head of the department. Make noise! It's such bad teaching to just keep testing without students getting feedback, first!!