Question about a split-stream Honors Chem course

[8filltheheart]

@Dicentra I can't remember.  How many weeks long are your courses?

[Roadrunner]

34 minutes ago, 8filltheheart said:

I'm betting that Farrar's sphere and the accelerated forum parents are overlapping spheres.

There is also a very strong push towards making everything as easy as possible for kids. No test, no homework, everybody get free education.... if people just had an idea what sort of exams European kids sit in. 

[Dicentra]

1 hour ago, SeaConquest said:

You are so clearly Canadian, Connie. I'm jaded from living though a pandemic in America, where a big chunk of our populace cannot admit to being wrong about anything. Ever.  

Well - there are definitely Canadians who struggle to admit when they're wrong.  I was one of them for the longest time. 🙂  When I first started teaching in the public schools here, I was always so afraid that if I admitted I had messed up the students would "smell the fear" and turn on me like a pack of wolves.  I may have been over-dramatizing things a wee bit in those first few years... 😉  Learning to admit wrongness is a hard, hard thing!

38 minutes ago, 8filltheheart said:

@Dicentra I can't remember.  How many weeks long are your courses?

They are 36 week courses.

[Dicentra]

31 minutes ago, Roadrunner said:

There is also a very strong push towards making everything as easy as possible for kids. No test, no homework, everybody get free education.... if people just had an idea what sort of exams European kids sit in. 

I had a student from Germany come into my pre-health chemistry course at the local college last year.  He was a bit older (mid-20s, I think) and he was shocked at the kind of output required of students here in Canada (and, by extension, the States, too, I suppose).  He kept telling the other students that they had no idea how easy they had it compared to the exams that he had to write.  I'm not sure they believed him.

[8filltheheart]

11 minutes ago, Dicentra said:

They are 36 week courses.

That probably makes it more unusual than most.  Most online providers trend toward 32-34 weeks.   Not suggesting a change!  Just noting that does equate to greater content.  I just looked at BT's, and its schedule for next yr is from Aug 23-May 6 with 5 scheduled weeks off and a light week the week of Thanksgiving.  I suspect that when people are saying it is a lighter course, it definitely is.

[SoCal_Bear]

Back to the more important topic of Monty Python, elderberries don't smell that good when you are cooking them to make elderberry syrup. I contain the pungent smell by cooking in my Instant Pot. 

Apparently, the bark, stems, and leaves are reputed to smell pretty rank. I've not come across it though because I buy dried berries. Apparently, the indigenous people used to crush this up to make it into a natural insect repellent.

You made my brain remember all sorts of scenes yesterday: African or European swallow, I'm not dead yet, It's just a flesh wound/'tis a scratch, and the Knights of the Round Table. This might be funny as to the lack of rigor to be found at times. For the spring final grade for my senior English honors course, my teacher (the head of the English department) allowed a group of us memorized the entire script of Holy Grail and performed it in class over 2 class periods. There was nothing remotely challenging about that course. I really think that teacher was dialing it in that year because I don't recall writing more than a few papers that year or doing anything other than selecting our own books to read and write short reviews.

Edited January 20, 2021 by calbear

[ieta_cassiopeia]

I wonder if strongly recommending a study skills course be taken before Honours Chemistry would help set expectations? Mentioning which features students have found particularly helpful to get the most from Honours Chemistry would hint to parents and students alike that those not solid on study skills might be better off taking your regular course (with or without the proposed optional challenge section) while strengthening their study abilities.

[Dicentra]

On 1/20/2021 at 10:11 AM, calbear said:

Back to the more important topic of Monty Python, elderberries don't smell that good when you are cooking them to make elderberry syrup. I contain the pungent smell by cooking in my Instant Pot. 

Apparently, the bark, stems, and leaves are reputed to smell pretty rank. I've not come across it though because I buy dried berries. Apparently, the indigenous people used to crush this up to make it into a natural insect repellent.

You made my brain remember all sorts of scenes yesterday: African or European swallow, I'm not dead yet, It's just a flesh wound/'tis a scratch, and the Knights of the Round Table. This might be funny as to the lack of rigor to be found at times. For the spring final grade for my senior English honors course, my teacher (the head of the English department) allowed a group of us memorized the entire script of Holy Grail and performed it in class over 2 class periods. There was nothing remotely challenging about that course. I really think that teacher was dialing it in that year because I don't recall writing more than a few papers that year or doing anything other than selecting our own books to read and write short reviews.

Good to know about the elderberry plant smell! 😄

Yeah - that kind of sound like dialing it in. 😉  We watched Holy Grail with our dd20 on New Years Eve - that's why it was fresh in my mind.  We'd watched it before as a family but it seemed like a good way to send off 2020. 😉 🙂

[Dicentra]

55 minutes ago, ieta_cassiopeia said:

I wonder if strongly recommending a study skills course be taken before Honours Chemistry would help set expectations? Mentioning which features students have found particularly helpful to get the most from Honours Chemistry would hint to parents and students alike that those not solid on study skills might be better off taking your regular course (with or without the proposed optional challenge section) while strengthening their study abilities.

Interesting thought.  I kind of assumed that high school students would have the basics of study skills in place (note taking, reviewing, time management, making sure to watch the video lectures, etc.) no matter whether they were taking a regular course or an honours level course.  But maybe that was a false assumption on my part. 🙂  Of course a student can know all of those study skills and still choose not to use them.  That's a whole other ball of wax... 😉 🙂

[ieta_cassiopeia]

1 minute ago, Dicentra said:

Interesting thought.  I kind of assumed that high school students would have the basics of study skills in place (note taking, reviewing, time management, making sure to watch the video lectures, etc.) no matter whether they were taking a regular course or an honours level course.  But maybe that was a false assumption on my part. 🙂  Of course a student can know all of those study skills and still choose not to use them.  That's a whole other ball of wax... 😉 🙂

Some students will have studied some or all of these. Others... ...not so much. (I'm embarassed to say I've encountered some first-year university students who had never taken a note in their life and had to be taught how). I'm not sure if the USA has quite such the yawning gap in study skill teaching as UK schools do, but I could well imagine that, plus the application issues you allude to (and that it's more difficult for some students to apply those skills online than face-to-face), resulting in the wide range of preparation levels you are seeing.

[Dicentra]

19 minutes ago, ieta_cassiopeia said:

Some students will have studied some or all of these. Others... ...not so much. (I'm embarassed to say I've encountered some first-year university students who had never taken a note in their life and had to be taught how). I'm not sure if the USA has quite such the yawning gap in study skill teaching as UK schools do, but I could well imagine that, plus the application issues you allude to (and that it's more difficult for some students to apply those skills online than face-to-face), resulting in the wide range of preparation levels you are seeing.

These are some documents that I give to the students in my courses to help them out with studying, study skills, and what I'm looking for in short answer question answers.  Folks are welcome to download them and use them even if you don't have students in my courses. 🙂  I think the study skills issue is related to what we were discussing above, too.  Very bright students often don't have extensive study skills as part of their learning repertoire because they haven't needed them. 🙂

HC Policies for Short Answer Questions.pdf HC Study tips.pdf How to study for an exam.pdf

[Roadrunner]

Very bright students also often think they can get away without doing actual work 😌🤦🏻‍♀️

[Dicentra]

Interesting side bar... (Yes, I'm derailing my own thread. ;))

I also occasionally teach intro psych and developmental psych at the local community college in addition to pre-health chem.  A few years ago, I had a student in one of my intro psych sections who didn't complete the first assignment.  She hadn't attended any lectures up to this point but since my lectures were hybrid (online and in person) and were recorded, I just assumed she had been watching them after class at some point.  I emailed her to find out what had happened - did she forget, was there a problem, did I not receive it, etc.  She said, "I couldn't do it because I didn't know that stuff."  So I said, "I noticed you haven't been at any of the lectures.  Were you watching them afterwards?"  She said, "No - I didn't get a chance."  So I asked if she had at least been doing the readings.  Nope to that, too.  At this point, I'm kind of confused.  So I say to her, "But without going to lectures or reading, how could you learn the stuff the assignment was about?"  And she said, "Well - I didn't know it from before."  And the light went on.  She thought that she should be able to do the course from "stuff" she happened to pick up at some point in life - maybe just life experience, previous courses, etc.  That had never occurred to me before - that a student might think they could pick up whatever was needed to make it through a course just from life, previous courses...  It was an eye-opening moment for me.  We then talked about how new stuff was going to be taught in any course she took and she would need to do something to learn that new stuff (go to lectures, readings) in order to be able to do the assignments and tests.  She went on to do alright in the course.

It really helped me to appreciate the different backgrounds that students have when coming into a course.

[SeaConquest]

3 hours ago, Roadrunner said:

Very bright students also often think they can get away without doing actual work 😌🤦🏻‍♀️

Stop calling me out. That worked for most of my academic career. 😉

[Dicentra]

For comparison (in case anyone wasn't sure what I meant by "intuiting" and "not intuiting" problems :)), here are examples of two problems – one from physics that can probably be figured out through intuition and one from chemistry that cannot.

Physics:

An engineer is designing the runway for an airport. Of the planes that will use the airport, the lowest acceleration rate is likely to be 3 m/s². The takeoff speed for this plane will be 65 m/s. Assuming this minimum acceleration, what is the minimum allowed length for the runway?

If a student is a very bright math student and even if physics hasn’t been taken yet, the student can probably use the units to figure out what to do and how to solve this question.  The rest is just algebra.

Chemistry:

If 50.0g of hydrogen reacts with 40.0g of oxygen, what mass of water can be produced?

Without knowledge of moles, stoichiometry, limiting reactants, common diatomic elements, and combination reactions, there is no way this problem can be solved.  I can often tell an “intuition” type of student because they will tell me 90.0g of water can be produced – seems logical. 😉 There is no way that this problem can be "intuited" without knowledge of the chemistry concepts involved.

[Dicentra]

36 minutes ago, SeaConquest said:

Stop calling me out. That worked for most of my academic career. 😉

I'm curious. 🙂  At what point (what subject) did this quit working for you?  I was the same - tested as highly gifted in school, skipped some grades, excellent memory, didn't need to work much.  It was upper level chem courses at uni where I hit the wall and figured out that I NEEDED to study.  Then I had to learn how. 😉

[SoCal_Bear]

@Dicentra I scanned over your docs really quickly. Great advice. There's one thing I would suggest is as a tip.

Close other windows and applications running on your computer, close other things you have open in your browser, and turn off auto notifications for apps. 

I find this is a big problem. They think they don't get distracted with this stuff. FOMO is such a huge problem. They should be using their study breaks to check their messages and notifications if they really must. 

Edited January 22, 2021 by calbear

[SoCal_Bear]

1 hour ago, Dicentra said:

I'm curious. 🙂  At what point (what subject) did this quit working for you?  I was the same - tested as highly gifted in school, skipped some grades, excellent memory, didn't need to work much.  It was upper level chem courses at uni where I hit the wall and figured out that I NEEDED to study.  Then I had to learn how. 😉

All to true for me...though I wasn't in a STEM field so I got away with it longer because I was in business.

ETA:

So I wouldn't say I hit a wall...I just know I didn't get what in hindsight I should have out of my courses. I was doing enough to do good enough, but not enough to be at the top of my game. I just didn't have the study skills at that point and was honestly having far too much fun doing other stuff to significantly change my ways. 

This is actually why I homeschool my son. He would be this way if I didn't force situations that require developing EF and study skills.
 

Edited January 22, 2021 by calbear

[wendyroo]

35 minutes ago, Dicentra said:

I'm curious. 🙂  At what point (what subject) did this quit working for you?  I was the same - tested as highly gifted in school, skipped some grades, excellent memory, didn't need to work much.  It was upper level chem courses at uni where I hit the wall and figured out that I NEEDED to study.  Then I had to learn how. 😉

I can't speak for SeaConquest, but for me, I never really hit a wall...and I regret it. Same as you, I was highly gifted, skipped grades and classes galore, started some college classes at 13, and took all my academic subjects at the university my last two years of high school. None of that phased me in the least - I could easily ace every university test with very little studying.

Transitioning to MIT was rough, but after first semester I found my footing...still with very few study skills and relying largely on memorization, intuition, pattern matching, and being a naturally solid writer (in spite of all my education, not because of it). I took 8 classes one semester, attended very few lectures, got all As and managed to learn very little.

I was accepted into a Masters program at MIT, but every year that went on, I was struggling more, learning less, making fewer connection. I wasn't making the most of my time there; I was just surviving. I never really hit a wall, because before it became completely untenable I graduated. Saved by the bell.

But it doesn't take much to see that I was slowly sinking into quick sand. My high school GPA was 4.5/4.0...and that was taking mostly university classes and setting the curve on every test and paper. Bachelor's GPA was 4.7/5.0. Master's GPA was 4.3/5.0...and that was by the skin of my teeth.

It is only now that I am learning study skills as I try to instill them in my kids. Looking back, it feels like my education could have been much more pleasant, productive, and enlightening, and much less bewildering and stressful if anyone along the road had ever taught me some study skills. Then again, I expect they all looked at my grades and assumed I already knew them. And realistically, I'm not sure my younger self would have been receptive to being taught them anyway...I was not particularly good at being taught having not had many opportunities for practice. 😏

[SeaConquest]

1 hour ago, Dicentra said:

I'm curious. 🙂  At what point (what subject) did this quit working for you?  I was the same - tested as highly gifted in school, skipped some grades, excellent memory, didn't need to work much.  It was upper level chem courses at uni where I hit the wall and figured out that I NEEDED to study.  Then I had to learn how. 😉

Well, my situation is kind of a bad example. I didn't really have much of a challenge until I got to law school, but I don't know that studying more really would have made much of a difference. Law school exams are about issue spotting in hypotheticals. A professor writes some outrageous fact pattern and in this interesting story, we are supposed to see all the issues covered in the entire course. We are supposed to take apart the fact pattern and discuss each issue, the relevant law that applies to each issue, apply the facts of the case to the relevant law, and reach a conclusion. Often, there will be no correlation to how well one knew the information in a course to what grade one would receive. Most of us could spot issues. The differentiation came in our analysis applying the facts to the law and the conclusions we reached. So, it wasn't a subject that you regurgitated facts. I mean, I did do that when I sat for the bar. But, that did require actual studying and memorization. It was horrific. But, I passed the CA on the first try, which not all of my classmates did. So, I suppose the bar was the first time I really had to study hard for something. The next time I studied as hard was when I took anatomy -- a pre-req for nursing school. I had to study for that class, too. But, I rarely have to study, even today.   

Edited January 22, 2021 by SeaConquest

[Dicentra]

I'm reviving my own thread. 🙂

I think I've decided what I would like to do regarding the split streaming.  I think it makes more sense to keep my current Honors Chemistry course the way it is and rename it "Advanced Honors Chemistry".  I'll then modify my current Chemistry course with extra questions on all the assignments/tests/exams (with a few additional topics) and rename that course "Chemistry with Honors Chemistry option".  That course will function similar to Derek Owens' courses where students can decide for themselves during the first chapter or two if they would like to do the extra questions/topics or not.  If they choose not to do them, they will receive a grade for "Chemistry".  If they choose to do them (and they'll need to do all of the extra questions throughout the whole course for it to "count"), they will receive a grade for "Honors Chemistry".  If they choose to do my current honors chem course (which will be renamed "Advanced Honors Chemistry"), that's a different course registration and they'd receive a grade for "Advanced Honors Chemistry".  As always, students will have the option to transfer if they find the course they start in is too overwhelming/demanding.  If a student starts in "Advanced Honors Chemistry" but is overwhelmed, they can transfer to "Chemistry with Honors Chemistry option" and choose to either do the Honors option or not.  If a student starts in "Chemistry with Honors Chemistry option" but decides the Honors option is too much, they can simply stop doing the Honors questions.

I've not finalized this decision yet (I'm waiting for a reply from the folks at PAH to see how they would like to handle this for my course through their program).  What do people think?  Does this sound workable?  Is it too confusing?

[Roadrunner]

2 minutes ago, Dicentra said:

I'm reviving my own thread. 🙂

I think I've decided what I would like to do regarding the split streaming.  I think it makes more sense to keep my current Honors Chemistry course the way it is and rename it "Advanced Honors Chemistry".  I'll then modify my current Chemistry course with extra questions on all the assignments/tests/exams (with a few additional topics) and rename that course "Chemistry with Honors Chemistry option".  That course will function similar to Derek Owens' courses where students can decide for themselves during the first chapter or two if they would like to do the extra questions/topics or not.  If they choose not to do them, they will receive a grade for "Chemistry".  If they choose to do them (and they'll need to do all of the extra questions throughout the whole course for it to "count"), they will receive a grade for "Honors Chemistry".  If they choose to do my current honors chem course (which will be renamed "Advanced Honors Chemistry"), that's a different course registration and they'd receive a grade for "Advanced Honors Chemistry".  As always, students will have the option to transfer if they find the course they start in is too overwhelming/demanding.  If a student starts in "Advanced Honors Chemistry" but is overwhelmed, they can transfer to "Chemistry with Honors Chemistry option" and choose to either do the Honors option or not.  If a student starts in "Chemistry with Honors Chemistry option" but decides the Honors option is too much, they can simply stop doing the Honors questions.

I've not finalized this decision yet (I'm waiting for a reply from the folks at PAH to see how they would like to handle this for my course through their program).  What do people think?  Does this sound workable?  Is it too confusing?

How do you decide if the course is too hard? I am just curious. I can’t see what the overall average grade is in the class, but just looking at average grades by assignment, and it seems most are doing super well.

I don’t have much input here. I think your plan could work.
My son ❤️❤️❤️ your course. I am still shocked he survived it much less did so well. 

[Dicentra]

6 minutes ago, Roadrunner said:

How do you decide if the course is too hard? I am just curious. I can’t see what the overall average grade is in the class, but just looking at average grades by assignment, and it seems most are doing super well.

I don’t have much input here. I think your plan could work.
My son ❤️❤️❤️ your course. I am still shocked he survived it much less did so well. 

It's more the parents/student that would decide if the student is feeling overwhelmed by the workload - if so, then they can contact me to make the transfer.  "Too hard" might mean different things for different people so I like to leave it up to the parent/student to decide if it's too overwhelming. 🙂

I've loved having both your boys as students! 🙂

[Farrar]

No, I like that. I know of multiple families signed up for your honors class who are essentially planning to see if their kid can do it and then drop down. While I'm glad you give that option, I feel like it's a case where plan B is the only plan, if you know what I mean. I think having it function more like DO or some of these other online math classes where you can do an additional section to get the honors credit might be more motivating in a positive way for kids.

[Farrar]

And just adding too... since I know I was sort of the naysaying voice in this thread... we really appreciated the challenge of your regular course, which was still super challenging, but not overwhelming, even for my super slow worker. It was *perfect* for Mushroom. It pushed him to learn better study skills. It pushed him to have a lot more confidence in himself as a student. And even though he got a B, he wanted to take the biochem class... that is, until he actually got to the organic/biochem sections in the textbook and HATED that more than any other part of the course.

[Roadrunner]

I would call your Advanced course - Advanced Honors for STEM majors. I don’t know if that matters at all, but maybe it drives the distinction further between two different honors courses. 

I still think the fact my 8th grader who isn’t exceptional in any way academically rocked it seems to indicate it wasn’t all that difficult, but I seem to be in the minority. 

Edited May 8, 2021 by Roadrunner

[Dicentra]

7 minutes ago, Farrar said:

And just adding too... since I know I was sort of the naysaying voice in this thread... we really appreciated the challenge of your regular course, which was still super challenging, but not overwhelming, even for my super slow worker. It was *perfect* for Mushroom. It pushed him to learn better study skills. It pushed him to have a lot more confidence in himself as a student. And even though he got a B, he wanted to take the biochem class... that is, until he actually got to the organic/biochem sections in the textbook and HATED that more than any other part of the course.

Yeah - I think organic chem and biochem require a special kind of weirdness to enjoy.  I seem to have that weirdness in spades. 😉  😄

[Farrar]

Just now, Dicentra said:

Yeah - I think organic chem and biochem require a special kind of weirdness to enjoy.  I seem to have that weirdness in spades. 😉  😄

Well, I tried to send you a couple of students with that brand of weird. 😉

[Dicentra]

4 minutes ago, Roadrunner said:

I would call your Advanced course - Advanced Honors for STEM majors. I don’t know if that matters at all, but maybe it drives the distinction further between two different honors courses. 

I still think the fact my 8th grader who isn’t exceptional in any way academically rocked it seems to indicate it wasn’t all that difficult, but I seem to be in the minority. 

I think that the "Chemistry with Honors Chemistry option" would actually be good for most students - even ones who want to go into life or health sciences.  I'd say that (and I do say this in the description on my website :)) the current Honors Chem (aka Advanced Honors Chemistry) is more meant for students who are aiming for chemistry/physics/chemical engineering majors in university.  So some STEM majors should be ok with not taking the Adv Honors Chem.  But food for thought!

[Dicentra]

1 minute ago, Farrar said:

Well, I tried to send you a couple of students with that brand of weird. 😉

Awesome!  Thank you!  It's always important to gather with people who share one's particular weirdness.  And, in my case, teach and share that weirdness. 😄

[Roadrunner]

I guess the option of a second honors track weirdly devalues the other class. 
Now neither of my children will have this on their transcripts since we don’t report science taken in middle school in CA even if it’s high school level. But if I had a high schooler, I don’t know. 
I am happy you didn’t make the existing class easier though. Hopefully kids will take it for knowledge and not just for the honors designation. 

[Dicentra]

3 minutes ago, Roadrunner said:

I guess the option of a second honors track weirdly devalues the other class. 
Now neither of my children will have this on their transcripts since we don’t report science taken in middle school in CA even if it’s high school level. But if I had a high schooler, I don’t know. 
I am happy you didn’t make the existing class easier though. Hopefully kids will take it for knowledge and not just for the honors designation. 

I thought about that.  I do feel like any change I make now will mean that folks that have taken the class in past will have "missed out" on something.  But I don't want that to stop me from making changes going forward - know what I mean?  I do think that there was too big of a gap between my reg Chem and the Honors Chem and wanted to fill that gap.  It's the naming of the courses that's tripping me up.

I could email my past parents with the changes and offer to reissue grade reports with the new name.  Would it make that much difference, though?  Would colleges really care if a course is named "Honors Chemistry" or "Advanced Honors Chemistry"?  Being from Canada, I have a hard time thinking through how these things play out in the States.  What do you guys think?

[Roadrunner]

9 minutes ago, Dicentra said:

I thought about that.  I do feel like any change I make now will mean that folks that have taken the class in past will have "missed out" on something.  But I don't want that to stop me from making changes going forward - know what I mean?  I do think that there was too big of a gap between my reg Chem and the Honors Chem and wanted to fill that gap.  It's the naming of the courses that's tripping me up.

I could email my past parents with the changes and offer to reissue grade reports with the new name.  Would it make that much difference, though?  Would colleges really care if a course is named "Honors Chemistry" or "Advanced Honors Chemistry"?  Being from Canada, I have a hard time thinking through how these things play out in the States.  What do you guys think?

I can’t imagine colleges caring, which is why I admit my thought is totally irrational but still somehow present. 😉

[Roadrunner]

1 minute ago, Roadrunner said:

I can’t imagine colleges caring, which is why I admit my thought is totally irrational but still somehow present. 😉

I will say more, you should see what our PS calls honors chem. 🙄obviously colleges think it’s grand, so it’s not that.

I wonder what new families will think doing significantly more work for essentially the same title. It’s almost a psychological thing and not a college thing. 

[SoCal_Bear]

24 minutes ago, Roadrunner said:

I guess the option of a second honors track weirdly devalues the other class. 
Now neither of my children will have this on their transcripts since we don’t report science taken in middle school in CA even if it’s high school level. But if I had a high schooler, I don’t know. 
I am happy you didn’t make the existing class easier though. Hopefully kids will take it for knowledge and not just for the honors designation. 

@roadrunner, are you filing a PSA or with a charter? If PSA in CA, you can report any high school credits earned prior to the official high school years. You aren't limited to foreign language and math.
 

[SoCal_Bear]

@Dicentra This possibility would be such a relief for my family as my son is taking that leap to know that there is a honors level still available. 

Edited May 8, 2021 by calbear

[Dicentra]

10 minutes ago, Roadrunner said:

I will say more, you should see what our PS calls honors chem. 🙄obviously colleges think it’s grand, so it’s not that.

I wonder what new families will think doing significantly more work for essentially the same title. It’s almost a psychological thing and not a college thing. 

Yeah - I did think about that.  Do you think going back and offering past families an updated grade report with a new course title ("Advanced Honors Chemistry") is something I should do?  Would that help?

[Roadrunner]

9 minutes ago, calbear said:

@roadrunner, are you filing a PSA or with a charter? If PSA in CA, you can report any high school credits earned prior to the official high school years. You aren't limited to foreign language and math.
 

PSA, but mine will have 4 years of science. I don’t see a point of using middle school courses. It would be padding the transcript. 

[Roadrunner]

3 minutes ago, Dicentra said:

Yeah - I did think about that.  Do you think going back and offering past families an updated grade report with a new course title ("Advanced Honors Chemistry") is something I should do?  Would that help?

Maybe. I also see you now do 5% multiplier? You didn’t then. I wonder how many kids would end up with a different grade with such a boost. 

Edited May 8, 2021 by Roadrunner

[Dicentra]

5 minutes ago, Roadrunner said:

Maybe. I also see you now do 5% multiplier? You didn’t then. I wonder how many kids would end up with a different grade with such a boost. 

That's an option that I'm offering for this year - partly based on feedback and partly because of the bizarre, COVID year(s) that's occurred.  I've had a few parents concerned about Honors Chem grades and the difficult year and I thought this would be an option to help mitigate that.  That's what was behind my reasoning for that.

[Roadrunner]

26 minutes ago, Dicentra said:

That's an option that I'm offering for this year - partly based on feedback and partly because of the bizarre, COVID year(s) that's occurred.  I've had a few parents concerned about Honors Chem grades and the difficult year and I thought this would be an option to help mitigate that.  That's what was behind my reasoning for that.

You are too nice. 
I seems to me everybody just wants an A. As if B is a completely unacceptable grade on a transcript anymore. 

[Dicentra]

2 minutes ago, Roadrunner said:

You are too nice. 
I seems to me everybody just wants an A. As if B is a completely unacceptable grade on a transcript anymore. 

It's because I'm Canadian - we're just nice.  We channel all of our rage into Canada Geese.  It's why they're so dang mean. 😜

[daijobu]

21 minutes ago, Dicentra said:

It's because I'm Canadian - we're just nice.  We channel all of our rage into Canada Geese.  It's why they're so dang mean. 😜

OMG, will you take your &^(**%$# geese back?!?!  They stay in CA now year round because our mentally ill citizens like to feed them.  And they hang out and block traffic and poop on everything.  ARgh!  

[Roadrunner]

1 minute ago, daijobu said:

OMG, will you take your &^(**%$# geese back?!?!  They stay in CA now year round because our mentally ill citizens like to feed them.  And they hang out and block traffic and poop on everything.  ARgh!  

That’s what I was thinking. I don’t know about mean, but boy am I sick of walking into their poop! 😂😂😂

[Dicentra]

11 minutes ago, daijobu said:

OMG, will you take your &^(**%$# geese back?!?!  They stay in CA now year round because our mentally ill citizens like to feed them.  And they hang out and block traffic and poop on everything.  ARgh!  

 

9 minutes ago, Roadrunner said:

That’s what I was thinking. I don’t know about mean, but boy am I sick of walking into their poop! 😂😂😂

😄  Goose poop makes excellent fertilizer.  You're welcome. 😉 😄

(It is gross.  And large, for a bird.  And they are mean - trust me.  You don't know from terror until you've been chased by a hissing, snapping, giant-wing-flapping Canada Goose.  I still have flashbacks to that moment on a Grade 8 field trip to the Toronto Zoo.  Shudder...)