Parent teacher conferences...

[Ron Ankeny]

Teaching is a thankless profession. We just had parent teacher conferences. I just hate it when a parent comes in and complains to me about their kid getting a "B". For crying out loud, not all kids are straight "A" students. So the parent asks me why the kid didn't get an "A" and I get pissed and tell the parent it is, "...a combination of gene pool deficit and poor parenting." Now I am the one getting called into the principal's office. Grrr....

[Phil Dunlop]

well done Ron, I'd be right behind you....if it wasn't for the memories!

:)P.D.

[tightloop]

You have my admiration.  anyone who teaches Jr High or Sr High is one tough cookie.  I couldn't do it, because the first time one of them gave me some static, I would grab him up by the shirt collar and send him home.  you cannot do that if I am not mistaken.

Keep on truckin', we need guys like you.  Thanks

[PaulW]

Ron,

What was probably even funnier was the parents to getting the joke!

[John Dunn]

What about "extra credit"?  I have indelible memories of some of my dimmer high school classmates wheedling the teacher for some bullcrap assignment to boost the grade they earned.  

I would tell the parents, "Your child received a B because to give him an A would be an insult to the  students who actually deserve one."  Grade inflation is a major problem, even (or especially) at college level.

If the boss has any sense at all he'll call the parents and tell them the grade has been reconsidered and it is now a B-.

[Jon Merricks]

LMAO Thats too funny, Ron.  It's a good thing you have such a great hobbie.

[jkmccoy]

People teaching in the public schools have my sincere gratitude and admiration. It is too often a thankless job and many changes (over the past 25 years or so) have hindered teachers' ability to really deal with many issues in the classroom. I assure you that there are still some of us who really appreciate good teachers.

By the time they reach my classes (mostly senior-level university) I rarely have to deal with the parents and much of the chaff has been winnowed away. Even so, I (too frequently) find myself dealing with students who should not have reached my classes (lacking the background and/or the intellectual capacity).

I was approached the other day by a student who is miserably failing my course (for the second time). This student asked "what do I need to do to get better scores on the exams?" For some students I can identify specific problems and suggest strategies to deal with them, but I told this student that I didn't know, it appeared to me that he didn't understand any part of the material we had covered. I pointed out that he received zero points on one of the essay questions (you have to really work at it to get zero). This student admitted that he didn't understand that topic.

Then I explained what he needed to do...you must study all the information we cover in class until you understand it well enough to answer questions about it on the exam. He looked at me like I was speaking a foreign language and left.

Cheers,

[bountyhunter]

"This student admitted that he didn't understand that topic.

Then I explained what he needed to do...you must study all the information we cover in class until you understand it well enough to answer questions about it on the exam."

With all due respect, I think you missed the diagnosis:  when I taught, a case like the one you describe invariably meant he did not have the proper training to get to the course he was in.  In other words:  somebody had given him a "C-" and sent him through Algebra and trig without learning the material and now when he is in Chemistry, he doesn't have the fundamentals to be able to get the subject matter.  I'll wager if you quiz the guy on the basics, you'll find he is woefully lacking.  Most students I've seen aren't stupid or lazy, but a lot of them have been processed through classes that didn't teach them anything.  Eventually, it catches up with you.

[SiG Lady]

A lot of students aren't taught decent/proper/usable COMMUNICATIONS skills, let alone the subject matter they are either interested in or required to take for graduation. If students cannot communicate well (read/write/converse/speak/do research) then they're going to be in trouble in just about every subject sooner or later. At least this has been MY experience in teaching... any age group.

[jkmccoy]

I didn't really mean to diagnose the problem (i.e. figure out why this student didn't understand). I do run into students who do not have the background information to do well (sometimes because they passed basic courses that they shouldn't have). I also run into students who lack communication skills to the point that it hinders their education. That's fairly uncommon. If they are really lacking in communication skills they don't make it to my classes. I also run into students who lack the intellectual ability or who are unwilling to devote the time and effort to study to do well. I will also stand by my (fairly flippant) response...you will need to study until you understand all the information well enough to answer questions about it. That may mean that you will need to review material from previous courses or that you will need to practice writing your answers in coherent sentences.

What I really meant to comment on was that we seem to have developed a culture (and educational system) where many students (and their parents) feel that they are entitled to good grades. Students often seem surprised when I tell them that they will not pass if they cannot demonstrate understanding of the material. In my example the essay question that he received a zero for was on a study guide that I gave to the class one week before the exam, yet here is a student 12 weeks into a 16 week semester, failing a course for the second time, has never asked a question in class or outside of class (it isn't a large class and there's lots of discussion during lecture) who says he didn't understand a topic (that we spent a week on in lecture) who wants to know how to get better grades.

He doesn't expect to have to know the material. He knows he doesn't know the material. He wants some "magic formula" for getting good scores on the exams.

Cheers,