Catherine Posted September 14, 2012 Share Posted September 14, 2012 My ds is a sophomore in high school. He goes to a good school-it's a math science magnet, college-prep, and it's challenging. He works HARD. I noticed last year that some of his work (including several large assignments from at least 3 different teachers) were never returned to him. Given how much time it takes him to do this work (research papers, original poems etc.) I am a bit irritated that it seems the school policy is not to require that teachers grade and return all work. Of course because of "test security" they return no exam anyway, so there goes that as a learning experience. Are my expectations (based on my own long ago high school experience) unrealistic? I asked an English teacher tonight at back-to-school night if all papers are graded and returned, and he was VERY embarrassed, blushed, stammered, and then muttered that he couldn't answer with so many students in the room! I was amazed. Dh thinks I shouldn't have asked it. What says the hive? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fhjmom Posted September 14, 2012 Share Posted September 14, 2012 I do not currently have a high schooler, but I have one that has completed HS through the PS system (with one year of private thrown in), and I am also a former PS HS teacher myself and currently working on my masters in an education field. IMHO, not returning work in a timely manner with appropriate feedback so that students may learn from their success or mistakes .... is just... um, lazy. (well, lets just say I have typed that sentence several times and I cannot adequately express how it makes me feel with language that would be appropriate for this forum). Lets just say that I think it is useless for teachers to assign work if they do not intend to give students appropriate feed back (and by that, I mean more than just a grade). Students need to be able to analyze their mistakes and know how to correct them in order to learn from them. This holds especially true for the large assignments you mentioned such as projects and papers. I would be calling a conference if my child's teacher routinely did not hand back these types of assignments with grades; and if that didn't get me satisfactory answers, I would asking questions of the department chair and/or school administration. Assignments should be given with a clear explanation of expectations, usually in the form of a grading rubric, so it should be fairly easy for the teacher to follow their own guidelines and give feedback. To not do so is just... unprofessional (still trying to be nice here, LOL!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catherine Posted September 14, 2012 Author Share Posted September 14, 2012 I appreciate your thoughts, and I agree. I really HATE to make waves with the future writers of LORs, but I am fed up. Anyone else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckymama Posted September 14, 2012 Share Posted September 14, 2012 Are you sure there's no school policy? Does the school have a handbook? Or anything posted online? I would look for official policies first, then use that information when addressing teachers. If not, contact whoever in administration is in charge of academics. Both my older kids' schools have academic deans who handle that sort of thing. Two of dd's friends had an English teacher who did not return papers in a timely fashion...like within the same quarter. The parents didn't get anywhere with the teacher so they had to go through the academic dean. The teacher improved lol. I can kind of understand not handing back tests. My kids had a few teachers like that, but the majority do/did let the kids keep their tests. I expect the teachers that don't use the same tests year after year. You'd think they could mix up the questions a bit :rolleyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catherine Posted September 14, 2012 Author Share Posted September 14, 2012 I have checked in the literature that they send home. It's full of excruciatingly detailed information about how they handle behavior infractions, and pages upon pages of expectations of the students, but the half page on teacher expectations only addresses their responsibilities in managing student behavior. I will look at their website. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kareng Posted September 14, 2012 Share Posted September 14, 2012 IMHO, not returning work in a timely manner with appropriate feedback so that students may learn from their success or mistakes .... is just... um, lazy. (well, lets just say I have typed that sentence several times and I cannot adequately express how it makes me feel with language that would be appropriate for this forum). Lets just say that I think it is useless for teachers to assign work if they do not intend to give students appropriate feed back (and by that, I mean more than just a grade). Students need to be able to analyze their mistakes and know how to correct them in order to learn from them. This holds especially true for the large assignments you mentioned such as projects and papers. I would be calling a conference if my child's teacher routinely did not hand back these types of assignments with grades; and if that didn't get me satisfactory answers, I would asking questions of the department chair and/or school administration. Assignments should be given with a clear explanation of expectations, usually in the form of a grading rubric, so it should be fairly easy for the teacher to follow their own guidelines and give feedback. To not do so is just... unprofessional (still trying to be nice here, LOL!). :iagree::iagree: I am also a former JH/HS teacher. My subject was Math. Nevertheless, I find it totally useless to assign work that is expected to be completed within a certain time frame and then not hand it back corrected within a reasonable time frame. I absolutely agree with fhjmom. Make an appointment to find out what the expectations are on both ends (student and teacher) and if that is unsatisfactory, meet the department chair. What kind of a message is given if you expect a student to tow the line but the teacher doesn't have the decency to show that #1 he cared enough to look it over and grade it and #2 didn't even hand it back. I can appreciate a portfolio being kept for each student and that they can copy what needs to be copied to take home and look over things. But 10 minutes in class would never be enough time for me to look things over,even for a Math test, let alone an English paper. Personally, I'd want the papers back. And, I just don't get that about tests. When I made up tests in the PS, I always handed ALL the work back. I just made up new tests for the next year. How hard is that? I personally think ALL the work should be handed back. PERIOD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueenCat Posted September 14, 2012 Share Posted September 14, 2012 I don't know about high school but I know the college ds is at does not return final exams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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