Opinions on this class policy, please

[KDIPIAZZ]

Because I know if I want to get a conflicting opinion, I should seek the Disboards ...

I'll preface this by saying that in 13 years I have NEVER argued with one of my son's teachers. I WAS a special ed teacher and I know it can be a thankless job. I realize there may be some bad eggs out there, but dealing with bad eggs is part of life. That said, this situation has me flabbergasted.

My son is an almost straight A student - an occasional B, takes Honors and AP classes. Two weeks ago, we took 2 day trip to visit a college. According to the student handbook, this is an excused absence. He made arrangements to make up any missed work, tests, etc and the absences were marked as excused.

Last week, he came home quite upset because he had received a 78% in Stagecraft/Set Production, a class he is taking to fulfill his fine arts requirement. He stated that because he wasn't there for "builds", points were deducted from this project, as well as his participation grade. The participation grade makes up the bulk of the work in this class. When he questioned the teacher, she stated that if he's not there during class, there is no way he can make up the work.

I checked his grades online and sure enough, he did have a low participation grade for that week. However, I don't automatically believe every word that comes out of my child's mouth and being penalized for an excused absence seemed quite far-fetched, so I emailed the teacher.

Here's my email
Ms. X,
While reviewing D's performance, I noticed that he received a 78%
for the weekly build (10/28/11) and an 88% for participation
(10/24-11/4). Upon questioning, Devin was unable to explain these poor
marks. Since previous grades have been in the acceptable range, I was
hoping that you would be able to clarify the grading process for me and
pinpoint where he is lacking.
Thank you


and her reply
Mrs. D,
Thank you for checking on D's grades in class. The grade of 78 for the weekly build Oct. 28 and the participation grade for the two weeks 10/24 to 11/4 reflect his being on his college trip two days (10/27 and 10/28) and on the field trip 11/2. Because Devin and his classmates are evaluated on what they do in class each day, when they are absent, they cannot earn points--instead, they receive 1/2 of the day's points if they are excused. (Because the entire class was on a field trip on 11/2, no work was done, so the points for the weekly build of 11/4 were reduced by 20 points.) The participation grade also reflects points not earned when students are away from class. This was explained in the course expectations letter that went home at the beginning of the year, and I do explain it further to the students when I review those expectations.
Before the end of the nine weeks, D will have one more assignment to turn in, again, something done in class. I am sure that he will be able to bring his grade back up for the end of the grading period.
If you have any other questions, please contact me again, either by email or phone at xxx-xxx-xxxx.



I'm waiting for him to bring home a copy of the course expectations, but does this seem like an intelligent policy to anyone out there? Frankly, even if it is in her policies, I'm thinking about arguing. This is NOT a child with an absentee problem. He missed one day in 9th grade, none in 10th, one as a junior and 2 days so far as a senior. With this policy, if he should happen to be sick for a week, his grade would be seriously impacted! I was never, in 13 years of public school, 3 years at university and 1 year of graduate school, marked down for an excused absence

 

[Jennasis]

Girl, you'd better edit out that phone number...


Seems like she suggested he could do something to bring the grade back up. It's a very specific type of class and I agree that it's the kind of work you have to BE there for. Find out what he needs to do for extra credit and move on.

 

[DWGal210]

Girl, you'd better edit out that phone number...

I was thinking the same thing.

It sounds a bit odd but if it was in the syllabus, I'm not sure what could be done. I'm sure it's hard to grade a class like that, where you probably don't have a lot of "turn in" work.

 

[msmayor]

I see nothing wrong with this policy at all. If his presence is a requirement in class, then his presence is required.

The "excused absence" is a reflection of his attendance standing overall in the school, and each class may have its own policy.

In our district, students are permitted two excused absences for college visits. The kids are encouraged to make most of their visits in the summer, though, to avoid missing important class time.

 

[Coconut36]

I see nothing wrong with this policy at all. If his presence is a requirement in class, then his presence is required.

The "excused absence" is a reflection of his attendance standing overall in the school, and each class may have its own policy.

In our district, students are permitted two excused absences for college visits. The kids are encouraged to make most of their visits in the summer, though, to avoid missing important class time.

I agree. I see no issue with it at all and most especially not in a class that requires you be physically present to complete aspects of the course. It does not sound like that is something he can "make up" like he could with a spelling test or history test. That is the policy and expectation of that class and reasonable. An excused absence is not a free pass to make up work or getting participation points if you missed class..it just means that the absence was called in and excused. Each teacher/class can have policies for make up work, points for in class participation..etc that are unique to the type of class it is and could result in not being able to make up the work.

Ditto those that said you need to edit out that number ASAP!

 

[ccgirl]

I, too, think this is an acceptable policy. An "excused" absence does not mean there are no ramifications. It means the absences will not count toward their unexcused absences (which many schools are very strict with). Some classes are very hands on (sounds like this one is) and are very difficult to make up work.

 

[LuvLDM]

The teacher & the policy both sound reasonable to me.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Because I know if I want to get a conflicting opinion, I should seek the Disboards ...

I'll preface this by saying that in 13 years I have NEVER argued with one of my son's teachers. I WAS a special ed teacher and I know it can be a thankless job. I realize there may be some bad eggs out there, but dealing with bad eggs is part of life. That said, this situation has me flabbergasted.

My son is an almost straight A student - an occasional B, takes Honors and AP classes. Two weeks ago, we took 2 day trip to visit a college. According to the student handbook, this is an excused absence. He made arrangements to make up any missed work, tests, etc and the absences were marked as excused.

Last week, he came home quite upset because he had received a 78% in Stagecraft/Set Production, a class he is taking to fulfill his fine arts requirement. He stated that because he wasn't there for "builds", points were deducted from this project, as well as his participation grade. The participation grade makes up the bulk of the work in this class. When he questioned the teacher, she stated that if he's not there during class, there is no way he can make up the work.

I checked his grades online and sure enough, he did have a low participation grade for that week. However, I don't automatically believe every word that comes out of my child's mouth and being penalized for an excused absence seemed quite far-fetched, so I emailed the teacher.

Here's my email
Ms. X,
While reviewing D's performance, I noticed that he received a 78%
for the weekly build (10/28/11) and an 88% for participation
(10/24-11/4). Upon questioning, Devin was unable to explain these poor
marks. Since previous grades have been in the acceptable range, I was
hoping that you would be able to clarify the grading process for me and
pinpoint where he is lacking.
Thank you


and her reply
Mrs. D,
Thank you for checking on D's grades in class. The grade of 78 for the weekly build Oct. 28 and the participation grade for the two weeks 10/24 to 11/4 reflect his being on his college trip two days (10/27 and 10/28) and on the field trip 11/2. Because Devin and his classmates are evaluated on what they do in class each day, when they are absent, they cannot earn points--instead, they receive 1/2 of the day's points if they are excused. (Because the entire class was on a field trip on 11/2, no work was done, so the points for the weekly build of 11/4 were reduced by 20 points.) The participation grade also reflects points not earned when students are away from class. This was explained in the course expectations letter that went home at the beginning of the year, and I do explain it further to the students when I review those expectations.
Before the end of the nine weeks, D will have one more assignment to turn in, again, something done in class. I am sure that he will be able to bring his grade back up for the end of the grading period.
If you have any other questions, please contact me again, either by email or phone at XXX-XXX-XXX.



I'm waiting for him to bring home a copy of the course expectations, but does this seem like an intelligent policy to anyone out there? Frankly, even if it is in her policies, I'm thinking about arguing. This is NOT a child with an absentee problem. He missed one day in 9th grade, none in 10th, one as a junior and 2 days so far as a senior. With this policy, if he should happen to be sick for a week, his grade would be seriously impacted! I was never, in 13 years of public school, 3 years at university and 1 year of graduate school, marked down for an excused absence

That is the school policy for my entire school district. My dd is a freshman and her honors bio teacher follows the district policy to the letter.

My dd missed an assignment and ended up with a B for her first quarter. She busted her buns to get to a high B and has to bust her buns to make sure she gets a 92 & up for her Q2 grade to get an A for the semester.

I know it stinks but consider it a lesson learned.

 

[LivingtheWDWdream]

I don't see an issue with the policy given the type of class it is. The teacher sounded reasonable in their reply. I would edit the phone number out of your post though.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I don't see an issue with the policy given the type of class it is. The teacher sounded reasonable in their reply. I would edit the phone number out of your post though.

Good catch. I edited my post.

 

[HM]

Seems like sound policy on the teacher's part for a class in which actually being in class is intregral to the grading.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

As long as there are days where there is "no build" so that students can plan excused college trips, it doesn't sound so bad.

Unfortunately, I feel there should be a way to make up the work. Unlike in college where you can pick and choose your schedule and then drop the class when you view the syllabus and find it impossible to meet the expectations, a high school class is a bit different.

I had no classes in high school where there was some way to make up something. Considering the school plans field trips--deducting points for that absence when the field trip corresponds to the curriculum of another class just doesn't make sense to me.

However--as a general policy, I don't have a problem with points being deducted. I would just appreciate if there was some way to do something extra to make up for it.

 

[NotUrsula]

Even when something like a college visit is excused, my policy when planning is to send a blank Google calendar link to each teacher and ask them to mark off any days when missing class will lead to unavoidable loss of grade credit, and I make it a point to avoid being out of town on any of those days.

I think that the policy is acceptable; she didn't give him a zero as I'm sure that she would have done had the absence been unexcused. Yes, it would have been helpful to know in advance that those were be-there-or-pay-the-price days, but if you didn't ask in advance about that, then I don't think that you can really argue.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Also OP, it sounds like your son did not talk with the teacher prior to taking off for the college visit. Can't do that. He has to learn to be proactive and never assume.

 

[abdmom]

I'm currently missing a tropical vacation because my 8th grader was unwilling to risk her standing in an extracurricular because of missing 2 of the sessions due to the vacation. I also teach senior high school students. We do activities in class that they are graded on. If a student is absent, they can't do the activity and they miss the opportunity to improve their grades with the activity.

I take the preparation of my syllabi very seriously. It sounds like your son's teacher does as well. This should have been something your ds discovered the first week of school when the syllabi were handed out.

 

[Hannathy]

Some work can't be made up. You may be legally excused but that doesn't mean all things can be made up. It could have been a lab that isn't set up anymore or some other activity like a performance or group speech, etc.



And this is why I'm always in disbelief when people on here talk about taking a High schooler out for a week for vacation.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Some work can't be made up. You may be legally excused but that doesn't mean all things can be made up. It could have been a lab that isn't set up anymore or some other activity like a performance or group speech, etc.



And this is why I'm always in disbelief when people on here talk about taking a High schooler out for a week for vacation.

Me too. Maybe they don't care about grades though.

 

[kamik86]

See this is one that I don't agree with for a high school class. why is there no way to make up participation? I'm guessing a build is a set build? so why can't he come after school and help out? If I missed a science lab that is something you have to be there to do too, but the teacher would have you come after school and do the lab!

In college we did have labs that we were not allowed to miss, but then you could drop the class if you couldn't meet the expectations. One example was I had a friend that had to cancel weekend plans because they were doing cultures in her biology class that needed to be checked on periodically all weekend.

 

[Hannathy]

See this is one that I don't agree with for a high school class. why is there no way to make up participation? I'm guessing a build is a set build? so why can't he come after school and help out?

And who is going to stay so he can do this? What if the teacher doesn't work after school? What if it isn't allowed due to insurance rules?

 

[Disneychix]

Honestly, I think it's UNfair regardless if he was visiting colleges or just plain sick. 2 missed classes brings a students grade down to the high 70's with no way to make up the work? I would think there could be a way to make up for participation-maybe write a paper or do some research on what they are building. When I was a senior there were always things going on where we might miss a class-senior lunches, special assemblies, even athletes that had to travel might miss some school.
I don't agree with this policy.