Just damn.
If you want on the list, FReepmail me. This IS a high-volume PING list...
Posted on 05/06/2005 5:11:21 AM PDT by beaureguard
Just damn.
If you want on the list, FReepmail me. This IS a high-volume PING list...
The kid actually got a good grade on an assignment but then had the grade cut as punishment for some other behavior?
Doesn't sound kosher to me.
That school board is nuts...................
He deserves it. He was power hungry and using a students grade to punish the student. The article said he halfed the students perfect score, that means the student did the work and did a good job on it. The teacher was just PO'ed he fell alseep.
No wonder outsourcing is a serious problem. Sports is more important than science.
If the teacher thinks the student is behaving in an inappropriate manner, then it is the teachers job to correct it.
In any case, simple question: Did the kid do the assignment? And if the kid could sleep through class and still do the assignment well, is the teacher really challenging the student to learn?
I don't know. According to the article, the syllabus stated that a grade could be cut for wasting time in class. The students had to (or should have) known this. Also appears that he had had this policy for at least 10 years.
I don't know about that - the kid was made aware of the rules:
His course syllabus warns that wasting class time can "earn a zero for a student on assignments or labs.
Me either, especially because there's plenty of ways to deal with it without basically admitting that you're using grades as a disciplinary measure. For crying out loud, just make class participation part of the grade, and give an F on that portion to the kid who falls asleep.
That was my thought too. It states the kid got a perfect score on the assignment, but his grade was reduced for falling asleep.
Having fallen asleep in my share of HS classes, LOL, and still maintaining a high GPA, I tend to side with the kid.
The teacher states that his policy is to reduce grades of those that fall asleep in class (you'd have to look to see if he followed that consistently), but the school board says that it has a policy that does not allow a teacher to punish a student by lowering his grade, for such behavior.
So the question is: Which policy should stand? The teacher's or the school boards.
This particular under achiever had a perfect score on the assignment in question...
>>So the question is: Which policy should stand? The teacher's or the school boards.
In this case, the school board's policy should stand. Now, which should stand afterwards, is certainly up for debate.
I'm for results over process on this one.
There is also a school board policy in place that the teacher didn't follow.
On the surface, teacher's actions of lowering the grade on one homework assignment might seem like a reasonable punishment, particularly since he made it clear at the beginning. However, the school has a stated policy of not using grades for punishment and he should abide by that and adjust his own. Why didn't he just give the student detention, or send a note home? Sounds like he thought he was above the rules.
Using grades for punishment really doesn't make sense when you think about it. That's what detention, in-house suspension, revokation of athletic priviliges, etc. are for.
BTW I've seen firsthand, on more than one occasion, college teachers leave a sleeping student alone and asking the class to leave quietly at the end. Students were left to wake up in next class!
For crying out loud, just make class participation part of the grade, and give an F on that portion to the kid who falls asleep.Exactly. This teacher is being pig-headed and stubborn on what should be a very minor issue. The fact that he now has a lawyer makes me dislike him even more.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.