topham's attic: working for the weekend!

Friday, August 27, 2010

working for the weekend!

UPDATE! 3H AND 2CP SEE AMENDED ASSIGNMENTS. (FRI 7:30 PM.)

We made it! Yes!!!

Everyone knows that the first week back is, by a mile, the longest week of the school year. And you made it through!  (Give yourself a past on the back here.)

Before I go on, a message:

It has indeed been a long week, but I think it has been a good one. I have enjoyed starting to get to know you and I've enjoyed listening to your discussions and reading your writing. (Please do not read anything bad into poorer scores on this early assignment, 3H-ers and 2CP-ers; I'm not even counting this thing at this time and may not at all.) I know that the first week in any class is often hard--lots to digest--but I hope that you've found this one somewhat interesting and (dare I say?) even enjoyable. But in any case I want you to know this:

If ever there is a time when you feel overwhelmed about anything at all, please feel free to come talk to me about it. I will always listen. I will always try to accommodate reasonable requests. It is never my desire to overwhelm you or to place undue burdens on you. Courses may get tough at times--that is their nature--but I will be happy to work with you in times of stress to release some pressure. And if you feel uncomfortable mentioning this in front of classmates, just drop me an email; I'll be glad to respond.

With that in mind, I want you to enjoy your first weekend, so nothing too heavy this time around. However, there are a few things:

3H:   Review the returned essays and email me a response that says that either you understand what I mean or you want further explanation (in which case be specific, please). And read carefully through the first level of "What Is a Work of Art?" quotes (in black type) online. You do not have to write anything about these, but make some notes for yourself about your thoughts on the main quotes and then scroll through the others (red type) to find some that you particularly enjoy for whatever reasons. These will fuel small, pod, and large group discussions next week. (BTW: Don't worry about your own definitions; I have decided that I'll hold these until later.)

Note about returned essays: I will have them back to you by mid-day Saturday. Anything highlighted in green is a concern. Anything highlighted in blue is a strength. Anything highlighted in yellow is a structural or grammatical issue.

E3H AND E2CP, FRIDAY EVENING: I FEEL VERY STUPID, BUT I JUST REALIZED THAT THE ESSAYS I HAVE ALREADY COMMENTED ON ARE ON MY COMPUTER AT SCHOOL AND NOT AVAILABLE TO ME OVER THE INTERNET. I AM SO USED TO THINGS BEING AVAILABLE ONLINE IT DID NOT OCCUR TO ME THAT THEY WOULD NOT BE UNTIL RIGHT NOW. THEREFORE, SINCE I CANNOT RETURN EVERYONE'S ESSAYS THIS WEEKEND, I'M JUST GOING TO HOLD THIS UNTIL MONDAY. DO ANYTHING ELSE THAT I HAVE ASSIGNED (which in the case of 2CP is nothing at all) AND HAVE FUN THIS WEEKEND. YOU'VE EARNED IT!

2CP:  Review the returned essays and email me a response that says that either you understand what I mean or you want further explanation (in which case be specific, please). Otherwise...enjoy your weekend! Our words this week were epiphany and serendipity.

Note about returned essays: I will have them back to you by mid-day Saturday. Anything highlighted in green is a concern. Anything highlighted in blue is a strength. Anything highlighted in yellow is a structural or grammatical issue.

CW: Review your returned pieces (I should have them back by mid-day Saturday) and comments I've written (which will be sparse). Use these comments to see if you can try a second draft of the piece. Use this guideline for a second draft:

~~Cross out~~ anything you are going to delete, rather than simply deleting it.
Use a new color (I suggest red) for anything in the new draft (including cross-outs).
Add a section to the top in which you record what color is attached to what draft, as in: Draft 1--Black, Draft 2--Red, Draft 3--Blue, etc.
For any new draft, add a brief statement at the top saying what kind(s) of changes you are focusing on.

Save the multicolor (rainbow) draft as a new file.

OK, everyone: final assignment:

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!!!

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

Friday, August 27, 2010

working for the weekend!

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