Insight needed : Teachers and parents of middle-schoolers
Here's the scenario...I get an email from Nick's Health teacher that he has an "A" in the class and we don't need to have a conference (I had sent him an email asking how Nick was doing in general). Great. Nick has all As and Bs in his classes, so I'm proud and he's having fun and more latitude on World of Warcraft.
Today I get a call from the student teacher in his Health class. The trimester ended last Friday, and she's calling me to say that Nick actually has an F in Health because he hasn't turned in his notebook (has all his assignments and notes) over the last month.
Huh? She explains that his Health teacher hadn't actually put in any grades this year so far (WTF?), and was "guessing" at the grade when he wrote me based on Nick class participation. Apparently, she (the student teacher) enters the grades for him. I ask why on earth if he was failing that I never heard a word from his teacher or was given ANY indication there was a problem, even after I sent an email to the teacher asking how things were going.
Her answer..."I don't know". Nice. I mention that Nick has done every assignment and that she has collected the notebooks several times this year, and he's received an A on those times. She then says that she hasn't seen anything for the last month, and that she has asked Nick two times to bring in the notebook, but that he keeps forgetting.
I told her that Nick is responsible for his actions, and that if he didn't turn in the notebook he should receive a zero grade for those assignments. However, I didn't understand two things: how he could get a failing grade when 2/3 of his homework was graded as an A, along with all of his class participation and his tests? The second thing is why she was calling to tell me all this AFTER it was too late to do anything about it?
She said that if Nick brings his notebook in tomorrow, she'll give him 50% credit for the missing assignments, since he's done so well in his other work. I'm not sure if that's the right thing to do. On one hand, he made the mistake and should face the consequences for not turning in the notebook. On the other hand, if the teacher had given me ANY indication there was a problem, I would have talked with Nick about it and this could have been avoided. Nick has fallen behind on turning in work once before (Algebra), but I worked on an action plan with him to help him remember, and he's now getting an A in that class and remembering to write down and turn in all his assignments. Adding to the problem was that his main Health teacher told him he had an A, and didn't give him any indication that not turning in his notebook would bring his grade to an F. I think being told of that consequence would have made a huge impression.
Ugh. I know that 7th grade is middle-school/junior high, and that a much higher level of responsibility is expected from the kids. Does that mean that parents are now out of the loop? Is it wrong for me to expect a teacher to inform me (before it's too late) that Nick is struggling?
Worst part? Nick did *every* assignment and it's actually neat and organized in the notebook. He just kept forgetting to bring it to school. He's been concentrating on his math and science that it just didn't register. I know that's part of the ADHD, and he's never had an IEP before since his medications work so well. Maybe it's time to change that? He's really independent and doesn't want to bring up the ADHD to his teachers if possible.
Nick's computer time is suspended until Thursday, I want him to recognize his mistake here and make sure it doesn't happen again. He's handling it very well (he's reading in his room) and agrees it's fair.
So, am I wrong to be peeved at the teacher? Should the entire responsibility lie with Nick? At this point I'm at the 50/50 point.
Today I get a call from the student teacher in his Health class. The trimester ended last Friday, and she's calling me to say that Nick actually has an F in Health because he hasn't turned in his notebook (has all his assignments and notes) over the last month.
Huh? She explains that his Health teacher hadn't actually put in any grades this year so far (WTF?), and was "guessing" at the grade when he wrote me based on Nick class participation. Apparently, she (the student teacher) enters the grades for him. I ask why on earth if he was failing that I never heard a word from his teacher or was given ANY indication there was a problem, even after I sent an email to the teacher asking how things were going.
Her answer..."I don't know". Nice. I mention that Nick has done every assignment and that she has collected the notebooks several times this year, and he's received an A on those times. She then says that she hasn't seen anything for the last month, and that she has asked Nick two times to bring in the notebook, but that he keeps forgetting.
I told her that Nick is responsible for his actions, and that if he didn't turn in the notebook he should receive a zero grade for those assignments. However, I didn't understand two things: how he could get a failing grade when 2/3 of his homework was graded as an A, along with all of his class participation and his tests? The second thing is why she was calling to tell me all this AFTER it was too late to do anything about it?
She said that if Nick brings his notebook in tomorrow, she'll give him 50% credit for the missing assignments, since he's done so well in his other work. I'm not sure if that's the right thing to do. On one hand, he made the mistake and should face the consequences for not turning in the notebook. On the other hand, if the teacher had given me ANY indication there was a problem, I would have talked with Nick about it and this could have been avoided. Nick has fallen behind on turning in work once before (Algebra), but I worked on an action plan with him to help him remember, and he's now getting an A in that class and remembering to write down and turn in all his assignments. Adding to the problem was that his main Health teacher told him he had an A, and didn't give him any indication that not turning in his notebook would bring his grade to an F. I think being told of that consequence would have made a huge impression.
Ugh. I know that 7th grade is middle-school/junior high, and that a much higher level of responsibility is expected from the kids. Does that mean that parents are now out of the loop? Is it wrong for me to expect a teacher to inform me (before it's too late) that Nick is struggling?
Worst part? Nick did *every* assignment and it's actually neat and organized in the notebook. He just kept forgetting to bring it to school. He's been concentrating on his math and science that it just didn't register. I know that's part of the ADHD, and he's never had an IEP before since his medications work so well. Maybe it's time to change that? He's really independent and doesn't want to bring up the ADHD to his teachers if possible.
Nick's computer time is suspended until Thursday, I want him to recognize his mistake here and make sure it doesn't happen again. He's handling it very well (he's reading in his room) and agrees it's fair.
So, am I wrong to be peeved at the teacher? Should the entire responsibility lie with Nick? At this point I'm at the 50/50 point.