Open Thread - Quick Question
Open Thread for this beautiful Friday.
One question: does your PTA send you an e-mail reminder the day of the PTA meeting? If so, good idea or just one more piece of e-mail in your box?
One question: does your PTA send you an e-mail reminder the day of the PTA meeting? If so, good idea or just one more piece of e-mail in your box?
Comments
At the recent RHS PTSA meeting, the parent reporting about the Instructional Council meeting said there had been a discussion about some teachers docking kids' grades for excused absences, whether sick or on a school sanctioned field trip or other reason. The chair of the Performing Arts department said some kids on music trips had this happen. You know, like the nationally award winning Jazz band.
Some parents said this had happened with their child, others reported long illnesses where the teachers were great about handling the absence. But one mom said her child had mono for 6 weeks and missed only one day of school so as to avoid getting bad grades.
Brian Vance seemed to downplay this, said that it seemed more like it was miscommunication and lack of clarity. I said no, not at all. This policy was explicitly listed in one of my son's syllabi last year. If you miss class for any reason, you might miss participation points or peer review points or whatever. And this isn't just not counting them, this was giving an explicit Zero for the grade. There was no systematic way of making those points up, the student was just told to look for future opportunities to do extra credit work (which was not always provided.) Yes, it happened to my son when he was home sick with a fever.
Brian asked for details, ie teacher names, given to him after the meeting. I did email him with my information.
I suggest that anyone with a child at Roosevelt who experienced this to email Mr Vance and let him know. And if this sort of grading policy is in effect with any other school, please let your principal know.
Do you really want kids with active mono infections sitting next to your child at school? Do you really want to fight with your sick child about staying home for their health? Do you want kids with H1N1 virus attending class to avoid the punishment of a teacher?
Here's how he started. The first slide said that previous to the decision to require all 10th graders to take AP HG, there were three different options. (Note that he used the word "track" but giving the student options is not tracking them.) The problem is that they were "Inequitable and Inconsistent." I asked for clarification. What was inequitable? He said because they were inconsistent. I asked again, ok, so they were inconsistent, but you also say inequitable. How were they inequitable? He repeated that they were inconsistent. Kids learned different material, different amounts of material.
So pay attention all you folks who like the RHS LA Options curriculum. The principal's logic should apply there as well. Since the Options classes explicitly teach different topics, they are inconsistent. By the principal's logic, this makes them inequitable. Therefore, one can safely conclude that Mr Vance would appreciate doing away with the inconsistent and inequitable LA Options classes.
Yep and will see his career skyrocket in the district as a result. Which is his objective.
On another note, anybody notice on the new assigment we page that sates:
"Please note that the new student assignment plan is scheduled to be implemented in phases, beginning in the 2010-11 school year. The assignment rules for the current 2009-10 school year will remain the same."
Phases? Huh?
The schools I've encountered in the central cluster and south don't have an interactive online presence period, including email.
There was none to speak of at Thurgood Marshall, though I understand it's currently being put in place. There was nothing online at Kimball two years ago. Can't speak for other schools.
Good question: Which schools are online, which aren't, and why? Is it up to each school's PTA? Who pays for it?
Is this a problem that others are having?
We're not there anymore, but we stay on the list to keep up with the community.
A friend of mine is working on translating the Beacon Hill Elementary website into Spanish and Mandarin. How awesome is that?!
It would be great if there could be an adopt a school webmaster program for schools who don't have a parent with webdesign skills.
http://www.schoolsmatter.blogspot.com/
http://www.ourglobaleducation.com/