What Would You Do: Teacher Edition!

This was my classroom at my old school.  It was gigantic.  I miss its size.  But my new room has the sunshine pouring in in the morning, so should we call it a wash?

Time for another round of What Would You Do?- the truly riveting blog series where I tell you a very common and sometimes mundane situation in my life and you tell me what you would do in the same situation.  Past editions include not getting a discount at H&M and reacting when a man in a Wal-mart parking lot tells me how to load my baby in the car.  See?  Riveting!

This week's edition is the Teacher Edition!  You know, kind of like Teacher week on Jeopardy only there's a lot less money involved. (Sidenote: My dream is to be on Jeopardy someday, but I am nowhere near smart enough.  My little sister is definitely smart enough so I've been trying to convince her for years to audition.  I told her I'd even train her if she gives me 10% of her winnings.  She said 5% after taxes and I said no thank you, you're too cheap.)

We just finished The Crucible in my class, and today I had the students do a little research on what in the play is real life history versus what parts in the play are made up to make it more interesting.  We spent a bit of time talking about how to tell the difference between reliable and non reliable websites (Smoot.com- not reliable!  Yahooanswers- also not reliable!  Total buzz kill for those kids, I know) and then we were off to the computer lab, to research their little brains out.

I have one student who instead of working on the assignment sat at a computer in the back and doodled.

"Yo dude, where's your table you're supposed to be filling out?"  I try to act all casual in front of the students, but trust me I'm freaking out inside whenever they are just blatantly ignoring classroom instructions.

"Hmmm?  Table?"  He replied lazily, as if I hadn't just spent the last five minutes explaining what they were supposed to be doing.

"Your table that you're supposed to be working on.  Where is it?"

"Oh, that.  I think I left it upstairs."

"Do you want to go up to the classroom and get another copy?  They're sitting on my desk."

"Nah.  I'm good."

"You're failing my class, you know." I tried to push him. "This is a core class- you need it to graduate.  I'd love to see you pass the quarter, but you're not going to pass if you don't do the assignments."

He shrugged his shoulders and continued doodling.

I stared at him, wondering what I should do for a minute and then I just gave it up. I left him alone and instead wandered around the room, checking on other students.  Once I was sure everyone else was successfully working on the assignment, I sat down and graded papers.  My doodler was at a computer close to me.  I noticed that he finished his doodle and then began googling random sentences to see what google would suggest he search.  He wasn't distracting any of the other students, so I let him be.

I never quite know what to do in situations like this.  Should I force my students to do the work?  They are already forced to sit in my classroom, might as well force them to work on the assignment?  Should I have insisted he go upstairs and get the table, and then should I have sat next to him and worked with him step by step until he finished the assignment?  Is that what "good" teachers do?  Or was it okay that I just let him doodle, allowing him at 17 years old to make his own choice?  (Or is the fact that he wasn't interested in the assignment a clear indicator that obviously my assignments are way too boring?)  A lot of the other students noticed that he wasn't doing the assignment, and I'm sure they wondered why it was okay that he did nothing while they had to do work, but I didn't say anything and they didn't ask.

This year at my school our method of being evaluated has changed.  When we are evaluated, our administrators will be looking to see if our students are "actively engaged" "passively engaged" or "off task."  Ideally, a good teacher shouldn't have any students "off task."  Welp, my student was absolutely off task today.  And I was fully aware, and decided to let it happen.  I guess the question I always wonder is where is the line in teaching.  At what point do I expect the students to show initiative and drive and what point do I step in and make them just do the dang work?  If I let him doodle am I being a lazy teacher?  Or are they mature enough to make their own decisions?

So tell me, What Would You Do?

Related post I wrote last year:  I Let My Students Fail My Class.

WHAT WOULD YOU DO? ROUND 2!

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It happens four times a year.

The dreaded end of quarter.  (For newbies around here I teach high school English for a living.  It is altogether the best and worst decision of my life.  Figure that one out for me!)

Oh the angst of the end of the quarter! The woe! The drama! The tears! It is five days of pure madness as kids I haven't seen in months flock in to try to make up the mountains of work they have been neglecting.  I start the day real sweet and by 3:00 I'm about ready to bit off the head of any kid who dares mutter, "Uh... Teacher..."  Students if you are out there somewhere reading this, I'm sorry!  I really am sorry!  It's not the real me lashing out, I promise!

I think what I hate most about end of quarter is that it puts me in really difficult situations.  There are no easy calls in teaching.  A lot of times I make the ultimate call in whether a kid passes or not.  Oftentimes they are students who struggle, who have difficult home lives, who need the extra help.  Do you let them hand in an extra assignment?  Do you make exceptions for them that you don't make for regular students?  Do you let them ignore deadlines that you shove down the throats of the rest of your students?  Do you teach them that the world will always make an exception for them or do you force them to fail and learn the hard truth?

And so, I have created day Round 2 of "What would you do?"  I was burned on this by mean commenters the first time I did it, but alas, I am ready to venture into the world of anonymous and nasty comments once again to see what you folks all think.  Would you be a good teacher?  Would you be merciful?  Would you be just?  How do you know what is right?

WHAT WOULD YOU DO? TEACHER'S EDITION 

PARTE DOS

BY THE LIFE OF BON

STUDENT #1:  THE "HARD HOME LIFE."
I received an email from the school counselor today asking me if I could let a student hand in extra work and give her a couple of weeks past the end of quarter to get stuff in.  She has an awful home life, abusive father, absent mother, etc.  The problem is she literally has a four percent in my class.  She has been to class maybe 3 days out of the quarter.  When I said this to the counselor she replied that the student is on a 504 (special accommodations because of needs) and is allowed extra time.  Hmmmm.  Now what?

A.  Allow the student to make up any work from the quarter.  It isn't her fault life dealt her a crappy hand.
B.  Allow the student to do enough work to get her to passing, but only to passing.
C.  Allow the student to fail the class.  She didn't attend class, she didn't do work for class, she doesn't "pass" the class.

MY ANSWER:  C.  I emailed the counselor back that the girl would fail because she is already months behind on many deadlines from the quarter that are too late to make up no matter what your 504 says.  The truth is I feel dishonest "passing" a kid like this.  I get that she "needs" it, but me saying she passed the class when I know she didn't is no different than her lying and saying she did an assignment when she knows she didn't.  She didn't learn the material, didn't read the books, didn't "pass."

STUDENT #2:  THE LOST ASSIGNMENT
I had a student who said her main writing project for Tuesdays with Morrie never got put in the computer.  We scoured the room and the assignment was nowhere to be found.  The assignment is worth 150 points makes up roughly 15% of her grade.  She hand did the project as it was a creative, hands on assignment. I would estimate that the assignment takes anywhere between 4-8 hours to do in its entirety. She has always been a good student for me, and never lied.  Do I excuse the assignment, or do I make her do it again?  I am very methodical in my grading and never take work home with me, so it couldn't have left the classroom.  The girl has also accused other teachers of losing her work. That being said, a month ago I found another student's lost assignment from last year underneath a stack of my copies.  Teachers make mistakes, too.

A.  Give her the benefit of the doubt and give her the grade of what she normally averages on big assignments.  Act like you found it so that the mom and girl don't think you're a crappy teacher.
B.  Just excuse her from the assignment so the points from the project don't help her grade or hurt her grade.
C.  Make her redo the assignment.  No proof no points.

MY ANSWER:  C.  I felt awful about it, and believe me, if that stupid project shows up in June when I'm cleaning out my room I will sit down and cry tears of embarrassment.  But I have no evidence of the assignment ever having been turned in.  I just can't give points for something I never saw.  I guess I am scarred by my eighth grade best friend who constantly said she handed in work she didn't, took advantage of our weak sauce English teacher, and ended up with an A without doing a stitch of work.  Kids can be sneaky, you know.

STUDENT #3:  THE "ONE DAY PAST DEADLINE."
Every end of quarter I cut off the work deadline a week before the quarter actually ends.  This allows me to get grades in on time, keep my sanity, and helps me stay organized.  Inevitably there are always a few students who try to hand work in the day after the cut off.  My cut off for this quarter was Thursday, March 21.  I was gone on Friday for Ashley's wedding.  When I came back this morning, the sub had left a student's project on my desk.  A 100 point essay that wasn't turned in on time was now completed and done extremely well.  I could tell the student took some time with this.  If I accept this assignment, the student will pass.  If I do not accept it, the student will fail.

A.  Give the student the points.  It was only one day, no one has to know about it, and the important thing is that she did the work.  Isn't that what the point of all this is anyway?  Besides, it wasn't an extra inconvenience to me as I hadn't even started grading that period's work yet.
B.  Give her half the points she would have originally earned on it.  If it's enough to pass, she passes, if not, too bad.
C.  Don't give her any points.  The deadline was written on the board, I reminded students a million times, and she had plenty of opportunities to get it in on time.

MY ANSWER:  A.....?!?  I am still undecided on this one, but am leaning toward A because the work is already completed and because she really is a bright, capable girl- just struggles to get work in on time.  But then if I do this for one student do I have to do it for all students?  And why can't students just remember their freaking deadlines already?

TOMORROW:  Shabby Apple giveaway.  Make sure to stop on by!

Also, my high school is #2 in the nation for having the most unique high school mascot!  I felt all warm and tingly watching this footage of my old alma mater and the hicks who still inhabit that time.  GO DINOS!