topham's attic: if i were you

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

if i were you

I would be thinking about the fact that there are only three weeks remaining until spring break and only two official weeks until the end of third quarter. (Oy! That one sneaked up on me, too!)

So here is my semi-official checklist of things to consider as March rolls on...

Are you a junior? If so, you might have a portfolio due by March 25! (Do you know where it is?)
Sophomores and juniors have writing workshop issues that need to be taken care of: way too many of you have fallen very far behind in conferences, especially recently. (Grades are about to reflect that.)
Are you a Drama student? You have a scene next Monday to perform and then we'll be heavily into two types of acting focus this month: outside in and inside out. You'll have a lot of exercises to do both written and in class. Don't be absent.
Juniors need to dive in on their ESC papers: D1 is due Monday and D2 a week later. Those putting it into their portfolios will need to rush things. You also need to be starting on your capstones.
Sophomores will be reading Catcher in the Rye this month. We'll be discussing the book over the next couple of weeks as you read it and write journal entries. You will also have at least one or two 1-page essays, perhaps in class. Busy month.

about tonight...

E3H: Start reading King Oedipus. Get as far as you can. (Be reasonable: that is way more than a few pages.) What's going on here? What do you think of this style? NB: Reading Workshop on Friday.

E2CP: Read Ch. 4 (doing journals if they come up). Be ready for any quiz I might come up with. NB: Reading Workshop on Friday.

Drama: Try to be fully memorized tomorrow. We will be discussing blocking and character-building. Friday you will be using the period to rehearse.

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

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

if i were you

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