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Lesson #002 I've Learned As A Teacher
Jan. 3rd, 2019 05:34 pmThis was something I developed over time, and I wish someone had mentioned this to me at the very beginning as a teacher. (Maybe teachers learn this in school, and my just jumping into the field sans appropriate degree is the problem.)
Document, document, document. I'll get to behavior documentation later; I am talking about grades.
Who doesn't document grades? says most people, me among them as I started teaching.
Turns out, I didn't document enough. Our school is broken up into 6-week grading periods, giving us 6 grading periods in total (36 weeks is one school year). I would diligently record grades, more or less upload them in time, and never had a problem.
Until one of my students (a low student, yes, and the parents knew it, but still) got a 65% instead of the 70~ ish they had been coasting by with the previous three grading periods.
The parents demanded to know why there wasn't any warning. Which, as a teacher, I will tell you flat out honestly it is an extremely obvious and appropriate question to ask, but also that I am so freaking run down trying to grade tests and build tests, and assign homework and collect homework, trying to input all the grades and make sure everything in the class is running smoothly, I just honestly did not stop to think that "hmm, it's about halfway through the grading period — I ought to look through the current grade averages, identify the students who are in danger of failing this grading period, and alert their parents."
Looking back on it, it seems so effing obvious, but it really was something no one had ever told me as a new teacher, and so it is the first thing you should start out with: always, always, always alert parents to everything happening. Parents will either thank you for amazing communication or delete the email — but at least you have proof that you did alert someone that something was happening.
Document, document, document. I'll get to behavior documentation later; I am talking about grades.
Who doesn't document grades? says most people, me among them as I started teaching.
Turns out, I didn't document enough. Our school is broken up into 6-week grading periods, giving us 6 grading periods in total (36 weeks is one school year). I would diligently record grades, more or less upload them in time, and never had a problem.
Until one of my students (a low student, yes, and the parents knew it, but still) got a 65% instead of the 70~ ish they had been coasting by with the previous three grading periods.
The parents demanded to know why there wasn't any warning. Which, as a teacher, I will tell you flat out honestly it is an extremely obvious and appropriate question to ask, but also that I am so freaking run down trying to grade tests and build tests, and assign homework and collect homework, trying to input all the grades and make sure everything in the class is running smoothly, I just honestly did not stop to think that "hmm, it's about halfway through the grading period — I ought to look through the current grade averages, identify the students who are in danger of failing this grading period, and alert their parents."
Looking back on it, it seems so effing obvious, but it really was something no one had ever told me as a new teacher, and so it is the first thing you should start out with: always, always, always alert parents to everything happening. Parents will either thank you for amazing communication or delete the email — but at least you have proof that you did alert someone that something was happening.
