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Rob_Hugo@PortNWSince TUSD policy is now that any student can be in any honors or AP class, too many students who don't belong there have enrolled. My quarter grades are lower than they should be. I have students who have ELL and clarity problems in their writing and comprehension problems in their reading. Parents want conferences and they ask if their student (who has a D at the quarter) can still get an A in the class. Such a drastic recovery is not likely. Additionally, parents and students seem to be oblivious to the idea that an A is not the default. They expect that if the student does all the work, he/she should be able to get an A. How can teachers make clear to people belonging to a culture where academic ambition is so highly prized that not everyone (especially someone who is not fluent in English) can be a top student in an honors/AP English class? Can teachers grade less rigorously for students with ELL problems in an honors class?
[Edit by="selwood on Nov 14, 1:06:22 PM"][/Edit]
AnonymousSuch polemy!
Do you suggest that this is a racial, or a cultural phenomenon?
Seems the only culture that would foster that which you disdain would be a culture where students are always given a grade of "A", or no grades throughout their eductation.
What kind of culture would do that? Not our culture (district), where elementary and middle schools always provide accurate evaluations of the abilities of the students in the form of a letter grade, and where high school teachers always consistently apply accurate subjective reflections of achievement of student gains.
And of course all universities provide similar evaluations.
If you feel that it may be a "cultural" problem, I believe that you are right. Yet I propose that the culture that fosters it is the contemporary culture of entitlement, rather than of accomplishment.
AnonymousI, too, understand where you are coming from. I am teaching two Honors classes and our department has made it very clear that we will not lower our standards; we will grade as we always have. One year in a regular English 1 class I had a kid with an ELD level 2! His parents refused to let him out and to put him in ELD, even though he had just moved here from Korea and was clearly not even near fluency. I think they believe there is some sort of stigma to being in ELD, though I'm not sure a D (which is where he ended up) in a regular class looks better. The ELD coordinator advised me to grade him as I would any other student. I am surprised he eked out a D, really.
I don't think we can grade less rigorously for ANY student; our expectations must be consistent across the board. (Although Kokoro insists our high school consistency is subjective.) If the students are not up to the honors or AP level, they will (hopefully) learn and find where they need to be. We all have our areas of strength, but I think it is asking a bit much of a student to be in honors/AP in every subject. They need to find the balance.
Anonymous易反应的头脑是有限的, 如同您展示了。