topham's attic: All that school stuff

Thursday, January 24, 2008

All that school stuff

First a reminder:

What to do with your final exams:

(No, the answer is not
burn them
shred them and use them as kitty litter
make nifty papier mache hats.)

The answer is: go to the rubric and figure out why you got the scores you did. Then write a 1.5 page essay in which you explain very specifically why you got those scores or argue that another grade would have been more appropriate. This is due tomorrow.

OK, then...

Something new: I actually have another blog (and it's actually more interesting, since it isn't just about all that school stuff). It's called sunspark says and I invite any of you to check it out. I don't post to that one as frequently but when I do it's on subjects that I find interesting.

As to all that school stuff..

E3H needs to post tonight on Chapters 3 and 4. E2H needs to listen to Bruce Springsteen's "Glory Days" and discuss what it is saying on the new Death of a Salesman board. Drama needs to buy the book and do your daily reflection. Also, see below:

According to Robert Barton's book...

Mewling Infant
"Any of us may resort to mewling when we aren't getting enough (or the right kind of) attention."
Whining Schoolboy
"Is there anyone who hasn't whined and pouted through some responsibility that has been forced upon them?
Sighing Lover
"When we are smitten by somebody, many of our actions are guided by what we feel a lover should act like...you try to be wittier, smoother, better read, stronger, and/or wilder than you've ever been in your life--whatever qualities your beloved seems to admire."
Reputation-Seeking Soldier
"The main objective and primary performance is to appear unafraid, in control, tough, and possibly threatening--even when what you really want to do is cry and run home for a hug."
Saw-Spouting Justice
"Age is not the determinign factor here; a student returning home as a member of a winning debating team...may suddenly assume an exalted manner as he or she passes on advice to mere mortals..."

Find examples in your own lives of times when you give each of these performances.

--kt

Notes to Parents

8/24/14

Hi, everyone, and welcome back to another (or your first) year at LFHS.

What you have heard is true. The English teacher has lost her ever-loving mind and is not going to be giving any grades at all in her classes this year. Not. One.

There will be no percentages, no numbers, no scores, no letters, no anything that will count toward anything that will end up being averaged for a final grade. But before you call in the men with the white coats, let me explain:

As I hope you have read in the doc your son or daughter (I have always hated the phrase "your student" when addressed to a parent) should have showed you, there is a wealth of research that indicates that grades--or the need to achieve them--are the single greatest thing that stand in the way of a great education. Studies show that the most influential thing a teacher can do to help a student grow academically is to allow him or her to self-grade. Most teachers would rather climb Mt. Everest dressed only in a swimsuit.

But the thing is: our academic system is severely broken. We say that our goal is to get our students to master Common Core Standards, and that is all well and good. But if that is truly the goal, then why do we care how long it takes them to master them? I'm serious. Think about it this way:

Try to remember back to when you were learning how to ride a bike. Oh, it was scary. You needed all kinds of support at first, lots of help from Daddy or Mommy. Then they let go and you were very, very wobbly. Probably you fell off, maybe several times. It took quite a while before you completely mastered the skill. But when you had...you had it down perfectly for the rest of your life.

Now imagine if you were being graded on that learning experience the way schools grade you. We would not score those first scaffolding attempts with Mommy and Daddy, but then...oh, you failed those quizzes when you fell off. And those wobbly rides? C's at best. Then a bunch of B's probably before you finally settled into 100% forever. But if we graded you right at that point, you'd probably average, oh, 83% or so. Why? You've mastered the skill perfectly. So why do you not get 100% if that is what we say we care about? Why on earth do we care about all those earlier times when you didn't have it down yet?

That will be what we go for here. Students will know what the goals are. They will understand what an "A" student looks like. And they will know when they have mastered an objective. Those who do so earlier than others will become tutors to those who have not yet done it: everyone gains from this and the newly learned skills, instead of being quickly forgotten as things studied for a test usually are, will continue being applied as masters tutor their classmates.

That is an awful lot to imagine will happen because I don't give grades this year, but what the heck: if you don't dream big, you never win big, right? The research is behind this, as is the school administration. I'm happy--well, actually I am excited--to pilot this concept at LFHS. As always, I'm glad to discuss this or anything else with you.

Karen

Feel free to email me any time at ktopham@lfschools.net.

topham's attic

Thursday, January 24, 2008

All that school stuff

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