I overheard this today:
"The kid is 18, he should just go get a job."
ARGH! This is one of the two reasons we are on the bad list of schools. We aren’t graduating enough students fast enough nor are we graduating enough kids.
My attitude (I teach an elective, and so does the teacher who said this)
- I teach an elective. To keep my job, I have to get kids in the door.
- No kid should not graduate because he flunked my class — by the way, only breathing oxygen will get you a failing grade. But I have a system that keeps kids going and successful.
- If you couldn’t do the work the first six weeks, you get a 70.
- If you couldn’t do the work the second six weeks, you get a 65
- If you couldn’t do the work the third six weeks, you get a 60 … etc.
- That way, you have a chance if you suddenly wake up and figure it out.
- I have to start with what I have and then move to them to where I want them.
The prevailing attitude is the opposite, which is what I think got us in trouble in the first place. Especially that last one.