How frustrating is this?!?!?! HS math post (long)

[FINFAN]

DD is not the most organized oerson so she has an accordion binder to help her keep her papers/assignments in the right places. We check it daily as soon as she gets home, and she does a locker check every Friday for any "strays" floating about. While this is not fool-proof, in all of her classes except Geometry it has halped immensley!
So, I get a message from her math teacher that DD is missing over 10 assignments, that she is highly disorganized, last to turn in stuff, you get the idea. DD shows me all the assignments, of which 2 had been MIA, the other 8 had been graded, and to me, binder looked pretty darn organized.
I call the teacher...takes her 6 school days to get back to me. Yep, 6. DD is asking teacher DAILY, can you please re-check these assignments in the grade book? Here they are...I had them done , turned in....in the meantime 3rd Quarter grades are completed..yep, DD's grade shows missing work...now too late to change ( not that the teacher has even taken the assignments from DD to check yet) I go up to the school and explain to DD counselor what is up. I get a pass to go to her math class and ask the teacher right htne and there, why has she not accepted the assignments to compare them to her gradebook. Of course DD is BEYOND humiliated....that is until several other classmates start asking the same thing, and why they were told to seek "outside help"..that one girl has been waiting a MONTH for a replacement math book ( not sure what happened to the first book, but I do know the teacher has to approve handing out a second book)
Long story short...Teacher says the class is too slow, that they have X amount of time to get stuff in...(never mind that 8/10 of DD's stuff was OBVIOUSLY in as she graded them ) she then accused DD of grading the papers herself, and trying to get credit...becasue no, they are not marked in the grade book! Are you kidding me? Thank heaven for call phones as I called the Principals secretary right then and requested he come to room xxx right now. He shows ( gotta admit, I was shocked) and does a wishy washy the teachers have their set agendas, was wrong to imply DD graded papers herself, however, if work was not in on time...HELLO! Dated papers...graded....NOT in DD's handwriting...finally teacher says how disruptive and hectic things are, she MAY have missed entering some students work in the past but that it is not an issue any longer. O.K. So apply the grades to DD's record and move on. Nope. Too late. Quarter is over. Now I KNOW you can alter grades at ANY time...so no way was I oging to settle for that.That is where this stands as of today....I made a few calls to parents of the other kids to see if they were having issues with this teacher....of the 5 I got to talk to ...ALL said they have had horrible oranization issues withthe TEACHER! Missing work, tests not returned to kids, assignments never given back, stuff given back 2 quarters after the fact.
Now can you just imagine the combination of a disorganized math teacher and a disorganized student? DD is going nuts trying to keep her head above water in this class...and NOW we see that her efforts are going no where as the teacher's disorganization and lack of follow thru are mkaing the situation far worse.
I have another call in to the Principal today...pretty sure not much is going to be done about this...there are only 33 days of school left. DD has been beating herself up, thinking she has been losing her mind, why are her efforts not working etc. UUUGGGHHHHH! And to have the teacher keep berating these kids that they are inept at responsibilty ( DD said they get that speech often) and it is the LAST period of the day.
JUST HAD TO VENT! I know teachers are human and the kids are NOT organized/prepared half the time...but this is a bit beyond.


Pam

 

[Patch'sD]

Is she tenured. Again nothing that you can do now. However I would see if the grades can be changed, in fact insist on it. I would also request that the teacher be monitored, to prevent anything happening between now and the end of the year.

 

[Snowysmom]

The teacher sounds like a disorganized, frazzled person. I feel bad for your DD who is just trying to do her best to be organized and ready for class. To accuse your DD of grading her own papers is ridiculous. I would hope that the principal would follow through on your and other parents concerns and maybe help this teacher but it doesn't sound like he will. The good news is there is only 33 more days in the school year for your DD.

 

[FINFAN]

Yep...tenured. And I have no problem with her teaching style etc. of the material... but to be disorganized herself and have it affecting the students is not acceptable. I guess many parents were looking the other way early on in the year as she had a 6 month old at home...o.k., and I guess DD's efforts WERE helping her to stay on top of things where some other students were not and were just dealing with it. But y'know...the baby should not be an issue at this ppoint, or if it is, get help! Do not pass the buck/blame onto the kids unless it is justified.

 

[damo]

Stand your ground Finfan.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Oh yea...I have taught my dd well and she watches her grades like a hawk now. You have to...mistakes get made.

In her Freshman year she has had to correct 3 different teachers for grades and these were just honest mistakes! Her teachers are organized to a TEE...I cannot even imagine your situation.

You know, the first sign of trouble you have to be getting the ball rolling. Can't wait when it comes to grades. DD's grades are online which makes it so much better.

I hope you get it fixed for your dd!!!!!Good Luck!!!

 

[4greatboys]

I would tell them you want her out of that class. I keep on my kids to get their work done and turned in on time but there is not much you can do about a disorganized teacher.
My oldest had a teacher like that one year and it was heck getting him through the school year with a decent grade in the books on paper he had done and had turned in.

 

[ryka]

If the principal will not to anything about it then I would go to the BOE. I hope you still have the graded papers. Her grade should be changed. I would not let this go.

 

[FINFAN]

O.K. Just off the phone on a conference call between teacher, principal and myself. Are you ready for this? Well, Mystery Machine, I guess you would've seen this coming....
The on-line grading sytem is "in-process" which means that the teachers are posting grades, but it is currently hit or miss as to who can access it. (We cannot for 4 of DD's classes.) So in our case until it is worked out we need the teachers to do things the old-fashioined way..gee, comunicate to the student one on one ( imagine that) anyway, Principal is standing by the teacher that DD's assignments HAD been posted on-line, and that it is impossible for them to know who can/can't access it , so everyone needs to be understanding during the introduction of the system, uummmmm, if she entered them on-line, does that mean she does not have to enter them into the grade book, even as a back up? Response: "That is up to the individual teachers discretion."
So basically, they found a way to cover the teacher and DD is left hung out to dry...along w/any other students who are dealing with similar stuff.
They are relying on the on-line grade system to be the source of information/communication...so , any family who is not on-line is up a creek. Teachers do not HAVE to account for getting info across any other way.
This is going to be a nightmare fir thsi particular math teacher...if she cannot even enter grades into a book in a timely organized manner and have feedback with her students..how the heck is she going to manage posting them on line updated daily?

Than saga continues, as I am still waiting to see the grade change for DD.

RYKA...I have a call in to the Superintendant...starting there first as I need to follow "protocol"...we'll see.....

oh, and the 2 MIA papers were IN CLASS quizzes....DD never had them in her possesion to begin with..so teacher is responsible for those, but there you go, missing, not in grade book, DD was in attendance those days, but it is DD who is the victim...Principal says DD is allowed to re-take the quizzes and apply the grade...HELLO? I told them htey could take the average of her quizzes (B) and apply that as the missing grades.

 

[Snow Brite]

It time to start writing a letter. A conference call is difficult to document, so I would fire off a letter, return receipt requested to the principal summarizing how you understood the conversation to end.

You could start by stating how hard your daughter has tried, how frustrating it has been, how she has not had this much trouble with any of her other classes. I would explain that your daughter is planning to go to college and that her grades and GPA are important to this. I would also talk about how often girls are told they "are not good at math" and that you hate to see your daughter coming to hate this subject when it is so important to her future education. Then I would recap the phone call.

I would reiterate that your daughter has the 8 "missing" assignments in her possession graded by the teacher, but the teacher somehow does not have them in her grade book and no one is able to verify if they were entered in the on-line system, so the school has choosen to not count these graded and timely homework assignments towards you daughters grade.

That the teacher does not have a grade recorded for the 2 "missing" in class quizzes given on days when you daughter was in attendance and so these will not count towards you daughter's grade but will instead be regiven to you daughter. You would like to know why your daughter was not given the pop quizzes with the rest of the students on that day? And if she was why her grades were not recorded.

I would also state that you have been told it is not possible for the teacher or the principal to change your daughter's grade due to these errors that have occurred and you would like to know who can change the grade.

You might also write that you expect an apology, in front of the class, from the teacher to your daughter for accusing her of grading her own papers. And that you have informed the principal that the teacher has been blaming the students all year for being disorganized when clearly the teacher has been contributing to this and possibly the entire class deserves an apology.

I would conclude with you list of things that would fix the problem. Such as: I expect my daughter's grade to be changed to reflect all of the missing homework by the end of next week. I expect that all of her homework will be recorded in a timely manner and I will receive a phone call if any homework is "missing" within 24 hours. If any homework is shown as missing but then found graded in my daughters folder, it will be recorded immediately for her grade without penalty. I expect my daughter to be treated with dignity and respect for the effort she is putting forth.

Finally I would let them know you have contacted the superintendent to discuss the situation since you were not left feeling that it was resolved.

This way you have "proof" of what was discussed and it is all clearly laid out and easy to discuss in the future. And hopefully it will help the principal and teacher realize they are being a bit ridiculous.

You are doing the right thing. And even though your daughter might be mortified her mom is there at school, I bet deep down she is feeling very loved and cared for. This had to have been a very demoralizing year for her in this class, so I think you are doing a lot to help repair that damage if nothing else.

 

[FINFAN]

Snow Brite...YOU ROCK! Advice taken!
Off to begin the process.
Thanks all, for your help!


Pam

 

[horseshowmom]

oh, and the 2 MIA papers were IN CLASS quizzes....DD never had them in her possesion to begin with..so teacher is responsible for those, but there you go, missing, not in grade book, DD was in attendance those days, but it is DD who is the victim...Principal says DD is allowed to re-take the quizzes and apply the grade...HELLO? I told them htey could take the average of her quizzes (B) and apply that as the missing grades.

School personnel here:

You are correct. The child should not be forced to go back and retake quizzes that she's already done (particularly considering the fact that none of the 10 grades she was accused of having missing were actually missing due to student error. I think you're being more than generous in agreeing to accept the quiz average to be placed as those grades.

 

[horseshowmom]

The on-line grading sytem is "in-process" which means that the teachers are posting grades, but it is currently hit or miss as to who can access it. (We cannot for 4 of DD's classes.) So in our case until it is worked out we need the teachers to do things the old-fashioined way..gee, comunicate to the student one on one ( imagine that) anyway, Principal is standing by the teacher that DD's assignments HAD been posted on-line, and that it is impossible for them to know who can/can't access it , so everyone needs to be understanding during the introduction of the system, uummmmm, if she entered them on-line, does that mean she does not have to enter them into the grade book, even as a back up? Response: "That is up to the individual teachers discretion."QUOTE]

I can really, really understand computer problems - been there, done that - BUT:

How was the grade report generated? Ours are computer generated which means if she had put the grades in (as the principal is insisting) they would have shown up on the grade report. Surely, the teacher wasn't doing handwritten reports (which wouldn't make any sense at all since they don't have to put the grades in their gradebook). Even if she was, the grades should have shown up in one place or the other if she were putting them in. They weren't put in - that's the problem! And it sounds like they're trying to say that they were.

 

[MinnieM3]

O.K. Just off the phone on a conference call between teacher, principal and myself. Are you ready for this? Well, Mystery Machine, I guess you would've seen this coming....
The on-line grading sytem is "in-process" which means that the teachers are posting grades, but it is currently hit or miss as to who can access it. (We cannot for 4 of DD's classes.) So in our case until it is worked out we need the teachers to do things the old-fashioined way..gee, comunicate to the student one on one ( imagine that) anyway, Principal is standing by the teacher that DD's assignments HAD been posted on-line, and that it is impossible for them to know who can/can't access it , so everyone needs to be understanding during the introduction of the system, uummmmm, if she entered them on-line, does that mean she does not have to enter them into the grade book, even as a back up? Response: "That is up to the individual teachers discretion."
So basically, they found a way to cover the teacher and DD is left hung out to dry...along w/any other students who are dealing with similar stuff.
They are relying on the on-line grade system to be the source of information/communication...so , any family who is not on-line is up a creek. Teachers do not HAVE to account for getting info across any other way.
This is going to be a nightmare fir thsi particular math teacher...if she cannot even enter grades into a book in a timely organized manner and have feedback with her students..how the heck is she going to manage posting them on line updated daily?

Than saga continues, as I am still waiting to see the grade change for DD.

RYKA...I have a call in to the Superintendant...starting there first as I need to follow "protocol"...we'll see.....

oh, and the 2 MIA papers were IN CLASS quizzes....DD never had them in her possesion to begin with..so teacher is responsible for those, but there you go, missing, not in grade book, DD was in attendance those days, but it is DD who is the victim...Principal says DD is allowed to re-take the quizzes and apply the grade...HELLO? I told them htey could take the average of her quizzes (B) and apply that as the missing grades.

Intorducing the system? School's almost over!! What kind of lame excuse was that? I have never heard of a teacher who didn't keep hard copies of grades. That is totally irresponsible. That school is setting themselves up for future lawsuits if they keep up this mentality. So sorry for your DD and the others having this teacher.