keeping in mind that the school year is 3/4 thru...lets say you changed the homework routine, from due each day to 2 weeks of assignments being due all at once just prior to chapter test day. It is up to the kids to determine how they are going to do their work, as long as it is turned in on the day of the test. A number of kids start falling behind for whatever reason...they take advantage of the not having to turn stuff in each day, some do not excel at time management, some choose to do several assignments on one day and none on another...would you think it was a good idea to maybe inform the parents PRIOR to this change and at the very least the parents of the students who begin to struggle and explain what the concerns may be? Or would you just let it ride continually, not communicating any concerns?How far down would you allow a student(s) to drop before you contacted the parent, if at all?
Not looking for flames, just wondering if I am completely out of touch on what teachers feel is the limit of their job...personally, I think a teacher who implements a new system this late in year must feel either they have to, perhaps the old one was not working...fine, I am all for mixing things up a bit, no 2 kids learn the same, or they do not feel like dealing with homework checks each day, but why leave it to the end with no scheduled time for fixing mistakes, questions etc?
if it was obvious that directly due to the new change issues occur , I would hope it is communicated to the parents in todays age of technology as soon as grades would start to diminish. My kid took the route of fitting in assignments where he could, did several on one day, none on another day and is behind on 2...therefor he is not ready for the test. I picked up on it by going over his progress with him...contacted the teacher asking why the change, for students who need structure this is gonna be rough etc., and the teacher basically replied that kids who did not find a way to handle it need to figure out how. Ummm, ok, but how far are you gonna let them sink ? If I had not been proactive, DS would probably be close to failing and this close to the end of the year that is scary...WHY would a teacher just turn his head? What about the kids who do not have a parent on top of them due to work or whatever....it just amazes me that there is obviously a direct correleation to the new routine and kids plummeting and the teacher feels it is not necessary to fill the parents in. We have on line grading...which means after assignments are turned in, the teachers post them on line for parents to see...and that's great IF the teacher is timely about posting...does not do a lot of good if grades go up every 3-4 weeks.....talk about time management.
ETA: Spoke to the teacher via email since calls were not returned...anyway, explanation is that this new method is so students do not feel pressure of getting assignments in on time, doing half the work etc just to get it turned in on time...WHAT? So the solution is to still have a due date, just 2 -3 weeks long, working at whatever pace to avoid having a daily deadline? In MATH? Sheesh , to not feel the pressure of having a deadline...ok , THAT'S realistic for future grades and college.
Not looking for flames, just wondering if I am completely out of touch on what teachers feel is the limit of their job...personally, I think a teacher who implements a new system this late in year must feel either they have to, perhaps the old one was not working...fine, I am all for mixing things up a bit, no 2 kids learn the same, or they do not feel like dealing with homework checks each day, but why leave it to the end with no scheduled time for fixing mistakes, questions etc?
if it was obvious that directly due to the new change issues occur , I would hope it is communicated to the parents in todays age of technology as soon as grades would start to diminish. My kid took the route of fitting in assignments where he could, did several on one day, none on another day and is behind on 2...therefor he is not ready for the test. I picked up on it by going over his progress with him...contacted the teacher asking why the change, for students who need structure this is gonna be rough etc., and the teacher basically replied that kids who did not find a way to handle it need to figure out how. Ummm, ok, but how far are you gonna let them sink ? If I had not been proactive, DS would probably be close to failing and this close to the end of the year that is scary...WHY would a teacher just turn his head? What about the kids who do not have a parent on top of them due to work or whatever....it just amazes me that there is obviously a direct correleation to the new routine and kids plummeting and the teacher feels it is not necessary to fill the parents in. We have on line grading...which means after assignments are turned in, the teachers post them on line for parents to see...and that's great IF the teacher is timely about posting...does not do a lot of good if grades go up every 3-4 weeks.....talk about time management.
ETA: Spoke to the teacher via email since calls were not returned...anyway, explanation is that this new method is so students do not feel pressure of getting assignments in on time, doing half the work etc just to get it turned in on time...WHAT? So the solution is to still have a due date, just 2 -3 weeks long, working at whatever pace to avoid having a daily deadline? In MATH? Sheesh , to not feel the pressure of having a deadline...ok , THAT'S realistic for future grades and college.
Even tho it is my job to direct and instruct? I just disagree that the teacher has no responsibility in communicating to famillies of students if a change they made is directly involved in the students progress. It is avery irresponsible way to act , basically irony at its finest.
Hoo-boy, you're assuming that high school students get a syllabus for their classes...has YET to happen and my DD is a junior with Honors & AP classes.
( according to DS and his friend who came home with him and is in the same class) Nice. Yep, this teacher is also a coach...DUH! Shame on me for not figuring it all out sooner. yeah, blah blah blah on teachiing responsibility, setting high expectations, no wonder the techeris not informing parents!...geez, maybe I should ask DH tennis coach if he can talk to DS/teammates teachers about altering class routines so they can be risk free too. well, I guess DS did learn a valuable lesson after all.
